


To Show We Care

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: A Little Thief of Hearts [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Accidents, Age Regression/De-Aging, Akira needs love and so help me he will have it, Ann makes clothes, Bath, Bickering, Blankets, Caring, Chewlry, Comfort, Cuddles, Diapers, Everyone cares so much about Akira, Family, Fever, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Haru is a bit insecure, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Akira, Little!Akira, Nicknames, Nightmares, Non-Sexual Age Play, Presents, Ryuji's mom is awesome, Seriously every other word for a long time was about that, Sojiro feels bad he threatened to kick Akira out, Sojiro finds out, Sojiro is a softie, Talking, The feed Yusuke campaign gains a member, Toys, Unconditional Love, Vulnerable Akira, Wetting, Yusuke is hurting too, a bit OOC, breakdowns, everyone is awesome, naps, plush toys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-02-29 21:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18786673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: The phantoms make a plan that has nothing to do with a Palace...





	1. We want to help

**Author's Note:**

> I was hit with inspiration. This typed itself. Takes place right after Little Thief
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy.
> 
> Yusuke is my favorite, just letting you all know.

Waking up is comparable to entering a Palace. One never knew what they were going to find, but there was a high chance that it was going to be dangerous, and possibly deadly. 

His secret was out. That vulnerable bit of him that he had never wanted exposed was now on display, and now that he had managed to claw his way out of his Littlespace, he had to face the judgement of his friends. Would they still be his friends after this? Were they still his friends now? Was this the end of the most wonderful thing that he had ever been a part of? 

“Breathe,” someone was saying. 

Breathe? _Oh._

No wonder everything trying to focus was like grabbing water. He was having a panic attack.

Someone was reciting the time, date, and his location.

He could feel the warmth of people in the room, rather close to him in fact, and he launched himself at the nearest source of heat. There was a muffled shout of surprise, but gentle hands held him, and he could feel the steady thump of that nearby heart. 

After a moment, he opened his eyes. “Sorry, I…” he said, trying to pull away, but the arms held firm.

“Don’t apologize,” Yusuke said.

The way he spoke made Akira freeze. There was a steel in his tone, not as harsh as the way he had sounded when he first summoned his persona, but close.

He shivered, was that anger at him? 

“I am not angry with you,” he said gently. Now his tone was more reverent, like the one he used when talking about the Sayuri. Perhaps he was not as far out of his Littlespace as he had thought, because the tone calmed him.

“You said a few words in your sleep. Is now a good time to talk about that?” 

Akira had a feeling he knew what he had spoken about. It would never be a good time to talk about it, but looking around he could see a lot of worried, and concerned faces, and he knew he needed to be brave.

“Can I stay here?” he asked in a small voice, holding tighter to him.

Yusuke guided them to the floor, settling Akira in his lap. “Is this okay?”

Akira nodded. Letting himself use Yusuke as an anchor, to keep him in the moment.

The others waste no time in settling around him,

“What did I say?” Akira asked. His eyes were closed, and he felt a little like he was in an in between space, and anything could tip the scale.

No one seemed to speak for an eternity before Haru spoke up. “There were two things that made us really concerned, and we think they are probably tied together in some way. So first can you tell us why you thought we would hate you for… behaving the way that you did?”

He let out a bitter laugh. “It’s not exactly normal.”

“Dude,” Ryuji cut in, and even with his eyes close he knew that the blond-haired boy had rolled his eyes. “None of us are normal. Seriously, think about it, it’s a common thing between all of us.”

“Ryuji,” Ann said exasperatedly, “you’re right, but would it kill you to use words that make you sound as intelligent as what you are saying.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? 

“You sound like preteen trying to be ‘edgy’.”

“Guys, now isn’t the time for petty arguments,” Makoto cut in.

“So, umm, why do you feel that way? I know I don’t hate you, and your way of coping is better than mine was,” Futaba says.

“I’m used to it,” Akira says finally.

“Used to it?” Morgana asked, leaping into Akira’s lap. He was almost scared of the answer that he was going to get. The other unconsciously leaned forward. 

“Usually… nobody stays. My parents were never really around, and I didn’t have friends, not before you guys.” he admits, reflexively petting Morgana as he opened his eyes to look at them.

 What he sees are looks of shock, and it leaves him confused. 

“But…” Ryuji started.

Akira looked at him.

“I mean, when I met you, you were you know, _you,_ and…” Ryuji made some wild hand gestures as though that would explain what he was talking about, and while that might not have been true for the others, it was for Akira. 

“I had to grow up a lot, really fast during that hearing, and when I... moved here, I wanted to forget everything, to just pretend like none of it had happened, and get a fresh start.” Akira said. He had never talked much about what had happened that day, but he had answered some general questions they’d had once they had started to hang out more often.

“Then you met me,” Ryuji said, almost apologetically

“Yeah you had some awful luck getting saddled with him so soon after coming here,” Morgana said.

 “You’re so lucky that we’re all having a moment right now, you mangy stray” Ryuji said.

Everyone knew it was just for show, ever since the whole ‘beauty thief’ fiasco, Morgana’s, and Ryuji’s taunts were not meant to hurt either of them.

“If I may bring us back to the topic at hand,” Yusuke said, “I believe our next question should be, how do we go about showing you that regardless of what has happened, you are still our friend, and that none of us would abandon you for so shallow a reason?”

Akira looked up in shock.

“Is it truly difficult to see that we all care for you? I fought you every step when it came to acknowledging the kind of man that Madarame was, but you never gave up on me. I think each of use feel similarly.”

Murmurs of agreement sounded from everyone in the group. 

“But I… it’s weird,” he whispers. That’s the crux of the matter.

Makoto, ever the logical one, was the person to come up with an idea of how to help. “Would it help if we each spent a day with you? Normally, when we hang out, you do what we want, what if instead, we all took a day, and spent time with you while you were in that mental space?”

“Can I have some time to think about it?” It killed him to ask the question, but this was… important. He needed to be sure. They wanted to care for him or at least they thought they did. It was what he had dreamed of from that first time, but there was so much potential for everything to go wrong, and if it did, he wasn’t sure that he would be able to take it.

~ 

That night, he was laying in bed, they had been reluctant to part with him, and he had been reluctant to part with them. Morgana had left him to his thinking, and for the first time, in a while, he was truly alone. He imagined all the ways this could go wrong, calculated all he stood to lose, but… what if it went _right._

 He swallowed hard, picked up his phone, stared at the screen, then went to the group chat.

 ‘Yes’ he typed out. His finger hovered over the send button, and before he can chicken out, he hit it. 

Akira’s arm, the one holding the phone, flops to the bed, and he closes his eyes, praying he hadn't just made another huge mistake.  

  



	2. Ryuji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Littlle Akira and Ryuji bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter I think it turned out well.

Nothing changes.

Really it was the thing that he had been the most worried about, but they seemed determined to show him that though they know one of his biggest secrets, it really isn’t changing how they feel. The interactions aren’t forced, they feel just like they did before, which honestly, both scares, and surprises him.

Futaba has breakfast with him, and sees him off when it’s time for him to go to school.

Ryuji meets up with him, and they walk to school with the blond boy, telling him about some goofy movie that he _had_ to stay up all night for, and then Ann, who meets them at the gate, berates Ryuji for choosing a movie over studying.

Morgana makes the cheeky comment that Ryuji is giving credence to the ‘dumb blond’, stereotype, and Ryuji, ‘accidentally’ bumps into Akira, and makes his bag shift. Not enough to hurt Morgana, but enough to startle him.

Haru is working on the plants in front of the school, and offers a wave to them. They pass Makoto in the hall, and she stops to talk to them as she goes about her duties.

At lunch, they text with Yusuke, telling him to bring himself over to Leblanc because all of them know that he is hungry since he spent his last bit of money on a new paint that he needed. 

All in all, a completely normal day, and it doesn’t just stay normal at school. When they go to Momentos, they listen to him, just like always, there is no hesitation when he tells them to cast a certain spell or switches the battle group around.

They still do the dreadful, stupid, self-sacrificing, thing where they throw themselves between him, and danger, but that was happening before, so it isn’t a product of their knew knowledge about him.

The normality of it all takes its toll though, and soon he is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

So naturally, two weeks after everything happened, he gets a message from Ryuji. ‘I’m free this weekend, would you like to come over?’ 

It’s far too proper, and so he knows exactly what Ryuji is asking. Akira swallows, and types back, ‘I’m free.’

The weekend comes, in almost a blink of an eye, and suddenly he’s in front of Ryuji’s apartment. He knocks, and the door is answered by Ryuji.

“Hey,” Ryuji says, and Akira smiles because, sure it might be a little trial and error to this, but it’s _Ryuji._

“Akira-kun,” he hears a kind voice call, and looking inside the room he spots Ryuji’s mom. The woman has liked him from the start, probably because he saw past the labels on Ryuji. 

“It’s okay if he stays for a bit right?” Ryuji asked.

“It’s the third time you’ve asked,” she reminds him gently as she picks up her purse. 

“I’m just making sure,” Ryuji says.

“You are always welcome here,” she directs toward Akira, her voice fond.

“Why do I get the feeling you like him more than me?” Ryuji sighs.

“Because it’s true,” she says.

“Mom!” Ryuji sputters, and Akira can’t help laughing.

She laughs at Ryuji’s reaction, and walks over to plant a kiss on his face, which he dramatically protests, although, he doesn’t wipe it off. 

“There are some snacks in the refrigerator feel free to help yourself,” she says to Akira, and he nods. A odd look comes over her face, and then she kisses his forehead.

His heart just about stops, and he looks at her like he’s never seen her before this moment. She smiles gently, giving him a quick hug, and then bids them both goodbye. 

“You okay?”

Akira nods.

Something lights in Ryuji’s eyes, and he smiles.

The expression makes Akira duck his head shyly, and with a start he realizes how close he is to Littlespace. He’d thought it would be extremely awkward, and take forever, but no, here he is, teetering on the edge, and Ryuji is offering his hand, and he wants to take it.

He looks up, and sees his friend. Sees a boy that has stood with him even with all the bad things that people had said, fought beside him, he sees someone he can trust, someone that, will sacrifice himself if it means protecting someone else. 

He takes Ryuji’s hand.

 

~

 

In a weird way, it’s not weird at all.

Ryuji guides Akira to the sofa, and turns on an animated movie he has loved since childhood.

Akira is mesmerized by the colors, and the images flashing in front of him. Something is off though, his eyes, windows to this young, and innocent side, flick to Ryuji every few moments.

It only takes a few moments to work out what it means, and it _hurts_. The thought that Akira’s biggest concern is that he will walk away. As if he could ever do that.

Ryuji pauses the movie, and Akira looks at him. Ryuji is not prepared.

It’s a look of resignation, so completely out of place that it steals Ryuji’s ability to speak.

“I has to go now?” Akira asks, voice so small, and just full of belief that he is about to get kicked out, and the first thing Ryuji can think is ‘ _screw this_ ’.

He doesn’t do well with words, but he doesn’t need to be, not right now. Instead, he reaches for Akira, trying not to growl as a look of fear came over his friend. He pulls him into a hug, holding him, trying to convey that he was there. 

He shifts, turning so that he is fully on the sofa, back supported by the arm, and a pillow, and Akira’s laying on him, head resting on his chest. He holds tightly for a moment, before relaxing, and restarting the movie.

 After the movie, Ryuji starts lunch. He makes a quick meal of fries, and chicken fingers. He puts Akira’s on a plate designed like the shield of a superhero, and gives him his juice in a cup that matches, on a whim. He thinks they belonged to some kid his mom used to babysit, but he wasn’t sure.

In any case, it proves to be a good move, because Akira lights up, smiling as he eats.

Ryuji spends more time watching him, than eating his food.

Akira takes a moment to notice, but he frowns when he does. “Ryu not eat?”

Ryuji does not tear up at the nickname. There is no reason to. It is cute, especially when said in that voice, but nothing to get emotional about.

He coughs. “I’m eating,” he said, picking up a fry.

“‘Kira did something wrong?”

Ryuji almost chokes. When he can breathe again, he says, “I was just waiting. I didn’t make too much, so I wanted to be sure you didn’t want anymore before I ate.”

It’s a flimsy excuse, but Akira probably wouldn’t believe him if he admitted that watching him eat, all the while kicking his legs, and humming with happiness after each bite, was so distracting that he had forgotten his own food.

“I almost forgot,” Ryuji says as Akira finishes his food, “I got you something, it’s not much but…” he trails off. Ryuji retrieves the shopping bag, and gives Akira a pink plush blanket. It has an elephant head attached, and has elephants embroidered in the plush.

 Akira just looks at it.

“I would have gotten a different color but this was the only one they had and, I didn’t know… I’m sorry,” he finishes, breaking off the sputtering explanation when tears began to flow from Akira’s eyes.

Ryuji never thought he would hate it so much, he would start sobbing. He turned away, not wanting to see Akira fall out of this childlike state, and walk out the door.

Ryuji is beating himself up so intently, because all he wanted was to do something _nice_ , but _of course_ he would mess it up,  that he didn’t notice Akira move over to him until clumsy arms, went around him.

Ryuji opens his eyes to see Akira, with the blanket elephant, between his arm, and body. Reflexively, Ryuji hugged him back.

When they seperate, Ryuji is shocked by how _right_ Akira looks holding onto the blanket. “Why Ryu get so sad?”  

Ryuji sighed. “I just… you didn’t seem to like it, so I thought you would be upset with me”

Akira frowns. His fingers play with the blanket plush, and he says. “Thought I was dreaming.”

That shocks Ryuji. “Why?”

“Used to being ‘lone,” Akira says.

And yeah, they are definitely going to talk about that, but not now. “So you like your gift?”

Akira proceeds to nod so fast, Ryuji is surprised he doesn’t get dizzy.

“Want to watch another movie?”

The question is answered with a big smile. So Ryuji cleans the mess from lunch, and puts on another movie.  

 

~

 

When Ryuji’s mom gets home from work, she finds the two boys sound asleep. Ryuji is crushed between the back of the sofa, and Akira, and his arm is around the other boy.

Akira is holding firmly to a pink blanket plush, and has a smile on his face even in sleep. The tv shows the title screen of a movie that has long since finished playing.

It is a bit odd, but she would have to be blind, deaf, and stupid, to miss the bond between this boy, and her son. Instinct told her this was something so sweetly innocent, and even if it weren’t she wouldn’t be upset.

This boy had changed her son for the better, given him purpose, and brought back his happiness, for that she could do nothing less than love him. Love was something the boy clearly needed too, the boy was aloof, and stoic, far more so than any child his age should be.

She went to the closet, and got a blanket. She gently covered the boys, and then turned off the television. After a moment of hesitation she gently kissed both of them, resolving to show even more affection to Akira whenever he came over.

The boy deserved all the love in the world and more, for some reason, he had been robbed of that, and she was going to help with fixing it. She knew from the stories she heard from her son, the owner of Leblanc was the boy’s guardian, and from the way he spoke, the man was gruff, but kind, so it must have been his family that had let him down this way. She didn’t understand how they could do that, it made no sense, but what she did know was that would be no hardship for her to show him affection, he was a very sweet boy.

With that in mind, she called Leblanc, surely the owner would want to know his ward was staying the night at her house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was supposed to be stilted and awkward, and then Ryuji's mom came in, and made it work. I don't understand how it happened, but maybe the cosmos decided that since it's mother's day Ryuji's mom needed to play a big part in this chapter.


	3. Ann

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann's turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got longer than i thought, and took longer than I expected. I like the way it turned out though.

The next week passed much the same as the previous one, no one mentions that they have talked about the weekend prior, but he knows that they have. Nothing else changes though, they still hang out after school, and practice new skills to see how much they will help in the cognitive world. Then, right before going to bed, one night, he got a message from Ann. ‘Are you free this weekend?’

Akira confirms that he is, and that is how he ends up at Ann’s house that weekend. He knocks on the door, and she opens it for him quickly enough that he can tell she has been waiting on him. For a moment, he stands there, unsure of what to expect. With Ryuji, having the other's boy's mom there, made him slip quickly, but, here, things were going to be different, and he had no idea what to expect or what Ann had planned for them.

If he wasn’t on the cusp of a panic attack, he would laugh at the fact that he could enter potentially life-threatening situations without a pause, but having his friends know about his Little self, and knowing that they wanted to care for him, in that state, was enough to make him panic.

“Hey, Akira-kun, it’s okay,” Ann was saying softly. She had pulled him into a hug, and, once he became aware of it, he gladly returned the gesture. She was warm, and having her hold him like this made him feel safe, because he knew first hand how powerful she was, and that she could be so gentle, showed the depth of her affection for him. Knowing that, whilst being embraced, was enough to calm him down.

“Sorry, I panic when I get caught up in my head,” he said pulling away from her.

“If you are uncomfortable, we can just hang out like we usually do, I think there might be a good movie playing at the theater if you want to go there.”

Akira shook his head. “No I want to stay here with you, I just get really embarrassed about everything, when I think about it too much, and that spirals off into the worst what-if’s, but it helps if it just happens naturally, then it isn’t such a scary experience.”

“Well, Ryuji told me that you guys fell asleep watching a movie, and I thought you might like to finish it, is that a good idea?”

At his nod, Ann put the movie in, and they sat down on the couch to watch it. The colors, and the pretty pictures, were enough to relax him, but not quite enough to get him into Littlespace. He looked over at Ann, and she caught his eye, and smiled at him.

He blushed, and turned his attention back to the movie.

After a little while, the movie held all his attention, he couldn’t help it, it was colorful, and he needed to know what was going to happen to the characters in the story. In the middle of the big ending battle, though, the movie suddenly stopped.

Akira whined, and looked over at Ann.

“Why you stop the movie?” he asked.

She took a quick breath, and said, “I think you need to go to the bathroom, little one, you’ve been squirming about for a little while now.”

Akira blushed and ducked his head. Now that it was said, he knew he needed to go, but… “I wanna finish the movie.” 

“We will, after you go to the bathroom.”

“I can hold it,” he asserted.

“You shouldn’t do that, it’s not good for your body. Come on, I will walk you there, and when we come back the movie will be right here waiting for us.” 

“Prowmise?”

“Promise.”

“Kay,” he said with a pout, as he got up. A sudden flood of panic washed through him as he found that standing made him need to go so much worse than he had thought.

He knew he was super red now, especially cause he had to use his hands to stop himself from having an accident all over his clothes and the floor.

A little had already come out by the time that he was shuffled into the bathroom, and Ann was barely turned around before he shoved down his pants, and plopped onto the toilet.

The splash of pee in the toilet was really loud, and he all he could feel was embarrassment that washed through him. By the time he was done peeing, he could no longer stop the tears of shame. He was supposed to be a big boy, had promised himself he would be a _good_ boy, and not an hour into the experience, he had already broke that promise.

Now he was going to get sent away, and all his friends would know how much of a baby he was, and they would finally hate him like they should have the moment they found out about his Little side.

“Sowwy, Kira sowwy,” he found himself repeating over, and over, because that was all he could do. He was fully immersed in his Little side now, entirely convinced that all the good things he’d had recently was over, and maybe somehow, being sorry would fix something or make everyone hate him less. 

His sobs came to an abrupt halt when he felt the pressure of  hands on his shoulders. They squeezed firmly, trying to get his attention.

“Shhhh,” Ann was saying. “It’s okay, everything is alright.”

“Not kay, I’m possed to be a big boy, and I had to go an I not know it, an I peed a little in my underwear.”

The last bit was whispered like he was confessing to the worst crime in history, because for him, it felt really felt that way.

“It was a little accident, and the movie was really good. If anything I should have stopped it sooner, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Akira shook his head, he was a big boy, so none of it was her fault.  

Ann was speaking before he could find a way to tell her that. “I wanted to surprise you with this after the movie, but, I think now would be a good time.”

“We still look at end of movie?” he asked quietly.

Ann wanted to punch whoever had convinced him that he lose everything for small accidents, but pushed the violent urges aside. “We will finish the movie,” she promised. 

The bright smile she got in response was so adorable, it made her wish she had her phone with her. 

After washing his hands, and pulling up his pants, Ann led him to her room. Ever since she had learned of Akira’s Littlespace, she had started making him clothes. She wasn’t the best at it, and she had messed up more than once, but now she was happy that she had persevered.

“I think I put them… yes, here they are.” she pulled out a bag. She had bought a two pack of boxers, and had sown the phantom thieves logo, on one pair, and the other pair was plain.

She had also made one pair of training pants. The pattern was a rather simple one, just basic black with the words Little Thief in white across the back, and their logo on the front. After looking up Littlespace, and searching for ways to prepare for the day, she had found that some Little used clothes to get into their headspace. It was her back-up plan if all else failed, but she was especially happy, because now she had plenty for him to choose from.

In addition to underclothes, she had made some other pieces for him, and she pulled out a few options for him to choose from.

She laid out the underclothes on her bed, “Do you like any of these?” she asked.

Akira looked over the underwear she had laid out, and she could see him eyeing the training pants, but embarrassment seemed to be keeping him from reaching out. “Why don’t you pick out the outfit you would like, and I’ll let you change, before we go back to the movie?”

Akira nodded. He ended up picking a black shirt that she had sown tails onto, reminiscent of his outfit in the Metaverse, and a pair of black lounge pants. Ann left out the door, and waited. It took a few minutes, but it was worth it. He was adorable in his outfit.

She went into the room, and got the clothes he had taken off, “Let me put these in the wash, and then we’ll finish that movie, that sound good?”

A loud rumble, made Ann laugh.

Akira ducked his head as he blushed.

“Make that clothes, _food_ , then movie,” she corrected with a smile. 

After the clothes were in the wash, Ann took him into the kitchen. She pulled out a plate with a teddy bear theme, and it’s matching lidded cup. She put some apple slices on the plate. Akira happily munched on the apples, as Ann prepared a quick meal for him. He had just finished the apples, when she had finished cutting the sandwiches. 

“Thank you,” he said when she put the put the sandwich in front of him.

“You’re welcome. Now, eat your lunch, I want to know what happens at the end of the movie too.

Akira’s eyes lit, and Ann tried not to show just how sad it made her, that such a small promise kept, incited that kind of happiness.

Akira took a piece of sandwich, that had been cut into cute little triangles to make it easier to eat, and hummed in happiness. There was a perfect amount of peanut butter and jelly. The bread was also slightly warm, and it just made everything even more perfect.

He took another piece, and offered it to Ann. Surely if he loved it she would too.

Ann smiled at him, and took the piece of food. She ate it slowly, hoping it would encourage Akira to take a larger share of the food.

He continued to eat, humming, and kicking his legs a little. He was just so happy, in a way that she had never seen him before, and it was such a wonderful thing to see. 

Akira picked up the cup, and took a sip. The milk was sweet and wonderful. In an effort to get more he used more suction. 

“Slow down,” Ann said, “I don’t want you to choke.”

Reluctantly, Akira did slow down.

“Good job,” Ann praise him, giving his hair a ruffle.

He seemed startled at the contact, but she didn’t let that stop her. After a second, he calmed, and playfully batted her hands away. She relented with a small laugh.

“Movie now?” Akira asked once he was done with lunch.

“Let me take care of the dishes first,” Ann answered.

Akira pouted a little, but he did wait.

She made quick work of cleaning the dishes, and then took him back to the couch. The movie was quickly restarted, and Akira was once again entranced. A chime alerted her to a message on her phone, and after taking a quick second to make sure Akira was occupied with the movie, she looked at it.

‘How’s it going?’ was the message from Ryuji.

‘He just had lunch.’

‘Did he do that cute little thing where he hums while he swings his legs?’

‘Yeah, it was adorable. I gotta go though. I’ll talk to you later okay?’

‘Gotcha. Have fun.’

Soon the movie was finished, and Ann figured it was a good time to show Akira something else that she had worked on.

“I have a present for you.”

His eyes went big at that.

“Come on,” she said leading him back to her room. She pulled out a small box, and handed it to him. He looked at her, and she nodded at him.

With shaking fingers, he opened it. Inside the box was a handmade plush of Arsene. It was correct to the smallest detail, and fluffy, and perfect. It was like having the Persona with him in a tangible way. Arsene had promised that he would always reside in the sea of his soul, but he still felt bad for fusing him away as he learned more about his powers. He had summoned him back, but somehow he still felt as though he had betrayed him.

He held the plush toy close to him, not even realizing how much he was crying. Ann was hugging him in an instant, and he put his arms around her. He was embarrassed, but happy.

“Thanks you, he perfect,” he managed through his tears.

Slowly, Ann moved them to her bed, and sat down. She began to hum gently, rubbing soft circles on his back. Slowly, her friend seemed to relax, and in no time at all he was asleep.

Ann let out a sigh, and slowly got up. She tucked him in, and smiled at how tight he held on to his Persona plushie. She left and put his clothes in the dryer, all the while thinking of how scared she had been when he had started crying. She had been sure he was going to cry himself sick. The anguish behind his tears was overwhelming, and she was sure that she had done something wrong, but he had thanked her so happily. 

She sat at the table and put her head down. She had never imagined anything like this when she had envisioned this day. Slowly she stood up, and went back upstairs. Her pace increased when she heard a noise coming from her room. Akira was tossing, and turning, clearly having a nightmare. Ann, touched him gently, speaking words of comfort softly. He turned to her, and a few minutes later he had settled.

She was stunned by the way her presence calmed him. She had no doubt the others would have as well, and it was amazing the level of trust that implied. It made her vow to do all she could for him in this mindset because he deserved it. He did so much for them, loved them, despite rumors, and their flaws. They felt just as strongly for him, and this was the way they could show it to Akira.

Pulling out her phone she opened the new group chat. After everyone had their day, they would need to have some plans in place, and there was no time like the present to make those plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke is next, and I am really excited to see how that one turns out. As always, I love comments, and throw some suggestions out if you have any ideas or if you just wanna see something specific.


	4. Yusuke (start)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke's weekend with Littke Kira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Yusuke is my favorite so his chapter is a two-parter.

Yusuke entered Leblanc with a worried frown on his face. 

“Hey kid,” Sojiro greeted him.

Yusuke startled a little, not noticing that the owner was there before he was being spoken to.

“Something wrong?”

“Akira was supposed to meet me at the station. He never arrived, and has not answered my calls.”

“He’s upstairs, go on up.”

Yusuke nodded, and headed up the stairs.

“Akira?” 

“Shhh,” Morgana hushed him. “Thank goodness. He’s sick, but he wouldn’t let me go get Boss.”

Before Yusuke could ask why, Akira opened his eyes. Already, his eyes were wet with tears, and he was shivering. He looked miserable, and he clearly was already in that childlike mindset. "Sowwy I not at da station."

Yusuke stepped closer,"Don't worry about that right now. You're sick, and you need your rest." Yusuke felt Akira’s forehead, to check his temperature, and Akira leaned into the touch.

“I no feel good,” he said. His voice was small, and weak, and it made Yusuke want to help him somehow. “I’ll go down stairs and see if there is some medicine.”

A hand snaked out from the cover and grabbed his shirt, and he turned back.

“Ari and El?”

Yusuke turned looking confused.

“Look in the chest under the desk,” Morgana instructed.

Yusuke went under the desk, and found a small chest. He opened it, with an old looking key, and found a pink plush blanket with an elephant head, and a Persona plush. Ryuji and Ann had mentioned giving him presents, these must be some of them.

He grabbed both of them, and gave them to Akira. He took them, and gave a happy smile, rubbing them on against his cheeks.

"Thanks," Akira said.

“I’ll be right back,” Yusuke promised as he walked away.

“Kay.”

“I’ll watch over him until you get back,” Morgana said.

Yusuke nodded and went downstairs.

“Do you have any cold medicine?” Yusuke asked.

“He’s ill?” Sojiro said, worry clear in his voice. “Let me have a look.”

“He didn’t want you to see him,” Yusuke said, blocking the stairs.

“This is my place, and he is under my care, I can check on him.”

“Please let me care for him.”

“Why should I?” Sojiro asked, clearly irritated.

“I think it has to do with fear. He admitted to us that he never really fit in anywhere even before he was put on probation.”

Sojiro sighed. That made a lot of sense, he was basically abandoned by his folks, for trying to help some woman, and then… Sojiro groaned. No wonder Akira didn’t want him to know, though they had bonded in the past months, his first weeks here the one thing he had impressed on him was that any screw up would mean abandonment, and that had to take its mental toll after being shipped off to an unfamiliar place, and more telling, was the fact that he considered being ill as a screw up. 

“I’m such a…” there was not any word that was enough to describe how bad he felt. “I’ll make it up to him,” he promised himself. “I’ll head home, and bring a few things. You’ll take care of him?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Here’s a cloth, you can wet it in the bathroom.”

Yusuke took the cloth, and wet it, then went back upstairs.

“Yu!” Akira said with a happy squeal despite his illness.

Yusuke smiled. “I’m back,” he said softly, going over to the bed. He placed the cloth on his friend’s face, and heard a happy sigh.

“Yu stays with Kira?”

“Of course,” Yusuke answered. 

“Hey, I’ll leave the medication downstairs, make sure he takes it,” Sojiro called from the bottom of the stairs.

Yusuke got up, and went downstairs to grab the medicine, then hurried back to Akira.

“Take care of him,” Morgana said. Yusuke nodded, and the cat went downstairs.

Yusuke measured out the right dose, and walked over to the bed.

Akira had covered his head with the blanket. “Yucky.”

Yusuke laughed a little. “If you don’t take it, you can’t get better, then we won’t be able to play."

The blanket moved a little.

“Play?”

“Yes, I thought we might paint together.”

“I not good like Yu.”

“It’s just for fun, and anything you make will be perfect, I promise. So please, take the medicine?”

“Juice?”

“I’ve got some here,” he said reaching into the bag, and pulling out a small bottle of grape juice.

“Ahh,” Akira said, opening his mouth so that Yusuke could pour in the medicine. 

Yusuke chuckled. Then he went over, and helped Akira sit up. 

Akira drank down the medicine, and his face screwed up at the taste. “Here you go,” Yusuke said, handing him the bottle of juice. 

“What is it?” he asked when Akira looked at him shyly. “Help me?”

Yusuke took the bottle back, and opened it. He helped Akira hold the bottle, and drink some of it. 

After Akira finished some of the juice, Yusuke capped the bottle, and put it back in the bag. Akira yawned.

“Yu stays?” he asked again, hands grabbing at Yusuke's shirt.

“I’ll be right here. Tomorrow is Sunday after all."

Akira loosened his grip, but was looking at him like there was something he wanted to ask. "Is there something else?” Yusuke asked.

“Cuddles?” Akira whispered so softly that Yusuke almost missed the word.

Yusuke didn’t even have to think about his answer. There was very little that he wouldn’t do for Akira. He’d never thought that he needed friends until he met Ann, Ryuji, and Akira, and subsequently all of the others, but now he would give everything he had to help any of them, so he was more than willing to give a little affection.

Yusuke kicked off his shoes, shirt, and pants, folded them, and put them on the chair. That left him clad in a pair of shorts, that he had intended to sleep in anyway, and then he climbed into the bed. He shifted a bit, until they were both comfortable. Akira was practically on top of him, and he was laying on his back, with his arms wrapped around his friend. Ari, the Arsene plush, and El, the elephant blanket, were squished between them, and both boys quickly fell asleep.

Later that night, Morgana came back upstairs to check on them. Finding them asleep, he smiled and curled up on the edge of the bed. 

"'Gana," he heard a soft voice call out. 

He lifted his head to see Akira had made a space for him. He made his way over, brushing his face against Akira's. Warmth was still radiating from him. 

"Get some rest," he ordered softly.

Akira nodded and closed his eyes. A smile graced his face as he listened to Yusuke's quiet breathing, and Morgana's gentle purr. Sickness always made him feel Little, but for the first time, in a long time, he had someone that was willing to care for him, and it didn’t matter how sick he was, he couldn’t help that it made him super happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next part is drafted in my head, and should be up soon, fingers crossed on that. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed.


	5. Yusuke (continued)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sojiro finds out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in two hours, and I really like the way it came out.

Akira woke to an angry voice, and it scared him. He still felt hot, and icky, and the mad voice did nothing, but push him, with a rough shove into his Littlespace. He shivered wildly, because the covers were no longer over him, and Yusuke, and Morgana must have gotten out of bed, because he could no longer feel their warmth.

He groped around blindly for anything that could help him calm down before he spiraled off into a panic attack, and his hands met with his plushie. He held it to him, like a lifeline, then he forced himself to open his eyes.

Seeing Sojiro there, amplified the panic, because he had never wanted the man to see him this way. Yusuke was blocking his view mostly, which helped a little, but the anger in the man’s voice, being sick, and Little, made the nightmarish image of the man he had ‘assaulted’ become superimposed over his guardian, and it was too hard to separate it.

Despite his plushie, his breathing sped, and before he knew it, tears and sobs were making it impossible to get air, and he couldn’t _breathe._ Nothing was helping, and he knew he was loud, but trying to stop the tears was like trying to dry up an ocean with a paper towel.

He needed to get away, he just needed to hide, then they would forget about him, and he would be safe. Akira’s world spun as he got out of the bed, and shimmied his way under it.

He held his plushie tight, and squeezed his eyes closed.

 

~

 

_Ten minutes earlier_

 

Sojiro had not opened the shop. It wasn’t too much of a loss, very few customers came on the weekend, and generally he had only opened because he’d had nothing pressing to attend to.

After making some breakfast for the two boys, and the cat, Sojiro went to wake them up. When he got up the stairs he was met with the sight of a pale back. The cover had been pushed down, and it was only over the legs of the bed's occupants.

Akira was cuddled up to the other boy, and despite the shifting that must have occurred during the night, Yusuke, still had his arms around Akira. 

The first thought that came to his mind, was that he had been lied to, that there had been a completely different reason that Yusuke hadn’t wanted him upstairs last night and it had nothing to do with Akira being ill. 

He roughly shook the boy awake, and was surprised at just how quickly Yusuke woke up. He didn’t miss the fear that appeared on the boy’s face, and it confirmed his suspicions. “What is going on here?” he growled.

Yusuke looked at him with a  puzzled gaze.

Sojiro’s anger grew. So the boy was just going to sit there and pretend not to know what he was talking about?

“Do you think I'm blind. It’s clear what is going on here,” his voice was rising with every word. Yusuke just seemed frozen, standing there in nothing, but some shorts, and for some reason that just made the older man even more angry.

Then he heard a cry, a loud sob that cut right through his anger like a hot knife. He looked behind Yusuke, and saw Akira. The boy’s eyes were wide and wet, and his hands were clutching a plush toy. Before Sojiro could move a muscle, Akira scrambled off the bed, and went under it.

The shock made him reconsider everything he had thought since coming up the stairs. Sure, cuddling implied a certain amount of intimacy, but all of those kids practically lived in each other's pockets. Seeing that he could still hear sobbing from under the bed, his answers would have to come from Yusuke.

Turning his eyes back to the boy, he found him still frozen, and it dawned on him that the fear the boy had woken with was not at the discovery of being seen cuddling with his friend.

Once again, Sojiro felt like a monster. He had heard the news about Madarame. It had been talked about for months that the man had stolen art from his pupils. He might not know all the details, but it was simple enough to come to the conclusion that the man had done more to Yusuke than simply steal his art, especially since the boy had lived with him for so long.

Truly he had made a mess of a simple situation all because he was jumping to the conclusion that they had lied to him. That was his mistake, and he needed to fix it. “Kid,” he said gruffly, “I’m sorry.”

Yusuke blinked slowly, coming out of whatever memories he had been locked in.

 Sojiro, at a loss for what to do, pulled the boy into a hug. He was never an overly affectionate person, with anyone other than Futaba, nowadays, but Yusuke, despite all his height, looked like a lost little boy.

When Sojiro pulled away, Yusuke put his hands over his eyes, trying to wipe away the few tears that had managed to escape. “S-sorry I-” the boy paused.

He turned in shock, “Stupid I can be so stupid and selfish,” he berated himself. Spying the pink blanket on the bed, Yusuke announced to the room, “El seems to be very lonely.”

The muffled sobbing stuttered.

“He didn’t mean to leave you,” Yusuke said to the plush blanket.

Akira slowly started to crawl out from under the bed. His face was flushed, and soaked with sweat and tears. At first he only had eyes for the plush in Yusuke’s hands, but then, he really looked at the other boy.

“Here Yu take Ari. Ari make Yu better.”

“Wha-” Yusuke started, only to find that he couldn’t even finish the word. He was supposed to be caring for Akira, not the other way around. The past should be in the past, and he shouldn’t be letting it affect him like this. What should and could be didn’t seem to matter though.

Yusuke put a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes, but it was a lost cause. All the pain, and anguish that he had bottled up since he allowed himself to see Madarame for the monster that he was, finally washed over him, and the dam holding back the emotions broke. He found himself sobbing, half choking as he tried to hold it all in.

 

~

 

“El seems to be very lonely.”

The words broke through the tears, and Akira listened for more.

“He didn’t mean to leave you,” Yusuke continued.

Akira slowly started to crawl out from under the bed, unable to live with the thought that El might feel like he did for so long. At first he only had eyes for the plush in Yusuke’s hands, but then, he really looked at his friend. He knew his Big self would be able to do something, but he was just too emotional, too sick, to get back to his Big mindset. So he did the only thing he could. “Here Yu take Ari. Ari make Yu better.”

“Wha-” Yusuke started only to stop. He put a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes, but it was a lost cause. the dam holding back the emotions had been broken. He was half sobbing, half choking as he tried to hold it all in, and it made Akira cry too. His friend was in pain, and hurting, and it hurt Akira to see.

Akira wiped at Yusuke’s tears, with clumsy hands, “Kira love Yu. Yu not with mean man no more, Yu here with Kira,” he cried.

 “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” was all Yusuke could manage.

Akira hugged him, and felt Yusuke return the gesture.

 

~

 

Sojiro stood there completely frozen. He had done so much damage, in so little time, and he didn’t know how to begin to fix it. Akira seemed so young, and clearly, Yusuke, had known that he would be like that, given the way he had coaxed him from under the bed. It was yet more proof that he had misconstrued the situation.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, and both boys turned to look at him. Clearly, they had forgotten he was there, and maybe he should have just snuck away, and reheated the food, that had surely grown cold by now, and maybe he should just do that anyway, because it was clear that he simply kept making everything worse for all of them by remaining where he was.

As he turned to go, Akira spoke, “Daddy don’t go!”  and the world seemed to stop turning for a moment. Sojiro turned, and saw that the other two were just as shocked as he was. Akira, was very red, and looked two seconds away from passing out. 

Sojiro swallowed, knowing that his actions in this moment would make or break his relationship with Akira, and the eclectic bunch that were his friends. He walked slowly, over, and let his affection for the kid shine through. “You want me to stay little one?”  he asked gently.

Akira nodded, too embarrassed to say anything more. A loud set of rumbling tummies, led to more blushing from Yusuke, and Akira, and Sojiro laughed. “I made you guys some breakfast, let’s go down and eat okay?” 

“It’s been a while since I’ve had breakfast,” Yusuke mentioned casually.

Sojiro silently promised to feed that kid more often.

“Come on Yu, Jiro makes best food ever,” Akira said happily, also not liking the tiny bit of food his friend seemed to live on.

They made their way slowly down the stairs. Sojiro followed behind them, just in case, and also so he could hide the ridiculous amount of disappointment that ran through him when Akira called him Jiro. in the space of a few seconds, he had become attached to the other title which was utterly ridiculous.

Akira was clearly more perceptive than he thought though, because as they sat to eat he asked quietly, “Daddy not eat with us?” and Sojiro found himself blushing which was absurd, but he did sit down to eat.

This should not be getting to him like this, and he knew he should be more concerned about this _thing,_ whatever it was, but each time he looked at Akira, all he could feel was the urge to protect him. Akira had gone through so much, some of that weight Sojiro was guilty for putting onto him, and if his way of comfort was being taken care of like this, by the people who cared for him in a way that seemed to be absent in his life with his parents, well then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T-T Yusuke is my favorite I swear. The more I love a character emotional torment I give them. T-T
> 
> As you can also see, Yusuke's weekend is now a three-parter since Sojiro butted in.


	6. Yusuke (end)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira spends his Sunday with Yusuke and Sojiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a few days to get to this point, but hopefully the wait will be worth it. Also I wrote the latter half of this today on my phone during my lunch break, and edited on the bus ride home, so if there are errors I missed I apologize. I caught a lot of them though.

After breakfast, and a quick stop in the bathroom, Sojiro and Yusuke led Akira back to his room. Yusuke got the medicine out to give him another dose, and Sojiro found some cartoons on the old tv set. Akira lasted through one episode of the show, babbling nonsense to his plush toys, before he drifted off to sleep. Yusuke made sure he was tucked in well, before sitting on the edge of the bed, and turning his attention to Sojiro. “I’m sure you desire an explanation for all of this,” he said.

Sojiro simply nodded.

Yusuke looked at Akira, wondering how much he should tell Sojiro about what Akira had confided in him.

“It’s called Littlespace,” Yusuke said. That seemed to be a good point to start from. I did some research before I came. It seems that it is not that uncommon especially in cases like his. From what he’s told us, he never formed bonds with anyone in his hometown, including his family, and as a result he felt adrift. Then he found this way of coping by chance.”

“Did he come right out and tell all of you about this?”

Yusuke shook his head. “A few weeks ago, something triggered memories of the trauma he endured during the trial, and he ran from us. When we caught up to him, he was distraught. He slipped into this headspace when he woke up, and only recently has he let us care for him.”

“How young is he, mentally speaking?”

“It seems to vary from what the others tell me. I’m the third one to take care of him like this,” he said seeing the question before it could be asked. “From what I have read though, it’s a sign of true regression there is no concrete age, just his likes dictating how he responds to things. For some people this kind of thing turns sexual, but regression doesn’t have that component. To put it simply, regression is the act of mentally turning back the clock. For Akira, it seems to let him break down the walls he’s had to put up, and it gives him the freedom to be vulnerable.”

It was a lot for Sojiro to process in a little bit of time, but it made a lot of sense given what he knew about the kid. He had quickly seen how dedicated Akira was to everything that he did, and how well he managed his time. He hung out with friends, had several part time jobs, helped keep the cafe clean, took care of a pet, and did very well in school. Then there was his...extracurricular activity that Sojiro knew absolutely nothing about.

That type of work ethic didn’t appear overnight. He knew some adults that were less put together, and yet for Akira, it seemed natural, like he had been doing it for so long that it wasn’t even a task for him to manage all of it. Suddenly, he was very happy that he was not well acquainted with Akira’s parents because he wasn't sure he would be able to show restraint to people responsible for depriving Akira of a childhood.

“Does all this change anything?” Yusuke asked.

The tone was casual, polite even, but there was a threat there. Sojiro smiled, Akira was lucky to have such good friends, he truly was. “I care about him too much,” Sojiro admitted. “I’ve been hard on him, and I didn’t want to care about him, but he grew on me. I took him in for some quick cash, and now he’s practically my kid.”

“He does that,” Yusuke agreed. “He pushes until you give in to him, but you don’t even see it until it’s been going on for a while.”

Sojiro laughed at the fondness in Yusuke’s tone. “Did he push you guys into this?”

“No, with this we pushed him, but…”

“What?”

“He thought we would leave him, he almost cried himself sick believing that,” Yusuke whispered. “With his actions it’s clear that he still thinks that we will just abandon him.”

“Will you?”

Yusuke looked at Sojiro with an expression of pure anger, stunned that the man could think that he would ever abandon Akira. “I could never do that. None of us could.”

“Good, as long as you all feel that way, he’ll see it every time he looks at any of you, and eventually, he will start to believe it.”

Yusuke smiled, and turned his eyes back to Akira.

“You look after him, I need to run a few errands before I get started on some lunch.”

After Sojiro went down the steps, Yusuke laid down beside Akira, and allowed himself to doze.

 

Yusuke awoke to a tap on his shoulder, and for a moment he was hit with a sense of deja vu, and fear filled him, but Sojiro didn’t look upset or angry, so as much as he seemed nervous, and after reading Yusuke’s expression, apologetic. He pointed over to the steps, and Yusuke slowly moved off the bed not wanting to wake his friend, Akira needed his rest.

Once they were downstairs, Yusuke went into the bathroom, he’d had to go for a while now, but he was too reluctant to leave Akira before Sojiro woke him. After washing his hands, he sat in a booth, and Sojiro placed a few bags in front of him.

Inside were a variety of coloring books, and crayons, a few sticker books, some short story books for children, a few colorful shirts, a set of white pajamas with a race car motif, and a set of pink sheets with elephant print. “Do you think he’ll like any of that?” The man asked trying to sound nonchalant, but failing miserably at it.

“He’ll love all of it,” Yusuke said sounding a little upset.

“What is it?” Sojiro asked catching the tone.

“I see all the things he has gotten, and I know that he will receive more from the others, and I am ashamed that I have so little to offer him.”

“I don’t think he sees it that way.”

“How can you be sure?”

“If he just wanted things, he could buy them himself,” Sojiro said.

Yusuke considered that. Akira was never short on money or ways to obtain more of it. It was true that the others could offer him more, but maybe he could put his talents to use, and create something for his friend.

Yusuke’s musings were interrupted by a sound from upstairs. He looked at Sojiro, and they both went up to Akira’s room. They found Akira moving wildly in the midst of a nightmare.

It was clearly a bad one, but both Yusuke, and Sojiro were reluctant to wake him, uncertain of how he would react. The choice was made for them when Akira jolted awake, eyes rapidly searching around for whatever had haunted his dreams. Akira got out of the bed, wobbling slightly as he took a few steps until he stood in the center of the room.

Yusuke wanted to go over to him, and he knew that Sojiro wanted to as well, but there was no telling what headspace Akira was in, and neither of them wanted to do anything to scare Little Akira in this state or simply scare him at all, given his disorientation, so the best bet seemed to be to wait it out and see what he would do.

Akira didn’t even seem to notice them. Once he was sure that the room didn’t have whatever monster he had dreamed, his breathing evened out, two fingers went to his mouth, and he began to gnaw on them, then, suddenly, his balance gave out, and he slid to the floor in a boneless heap.

Not wanting to startle him, Yusuke and Sojiro walked around the room so that they could approach from within his line of sight. They remained quiet though, worry keeping them from acting. That’s when they heard the unmistakable hiss of a bladder emptying itself.

Akira didn’t even react to the wetness, he just sat there, biting his fingers while the urine quickly soaked his pants, and pooled out around him on the floor.

“Stay with him, I’ll go get some towels, and a thermometer.” Sojiro instructed.

Yusuke nodded, his worry surging higher with every second that passed. After what seemed to be an eternity, Sojiro came back. He had the thermometer and a basket with some towels to clean the worst of the mess. They both placed the towels down, making sure to soak up most of the urine. Using the driest one, Sojiro threw the towels back into the basket.Yusuke put the thermometer in Akira’s mouth to take his temperature. As he suspected, the fever had come back with a vengeance. He showed it to Sojiro, and the man frowned in concern.

“Let’s get him undressed, and use a few washcloths to wipe him down.” He really wanted to give him a lukewarm bath, but he doubted Akira could even make it across the street in the state that he was in.

Yusuke helped Akira undress, and Akira just gazed at him, with glassy-eyed trust. Once the clothes were off they were placed in the basket with the towels, and Sojiro took them across the street to the laundromat after bringing up some washcloths, two big bowls of lukewarm water, and the bag with the pajamas.

Yusuke made quick work of washing Akira with the rag, adding a bit of soap to make sure he got clean then he used another rag to rinse the soap away. Finally he got him dressed, and tucked back into bed.

By the time he had finished that, Sojiro had returned with the mop. While he took care of the floor, Yusuke coaxed Akira into taking more medicine, and drinking a little water.

Sojiro, and Yusuke settled in the room, and turned on the TV, there was no way they were leaving him.

A few hours later, Akira woke with a start. His fingers, the same ones he had been chewing on earlier, migrated to his mouth, and he pulled his cover over his head.

“Akira?” Yusuke asked.

Akira couldn’t bear to look at him. He remembered everything, and he was sure wetting his pants like a baby was certainly crossing the line, and that it would be the thing that got him abandoned.

The fear threw him out of Littlespace with a sickening lurch.

He took his fingers out of his mouth, wiping it them on his shirt, and took a few breaths. Eyes squeezed shut, he pulled the blanket down, and sat up. He could feel the blush setting his face aflame, but that couldn’t be helped. “Sorry for all the trouble.” he said quietly.

“What happened?” Sojiro asked, sounding very worried.

Akira opened his eyes. Sojiro wasn’t the only worried one, and could that maybe mean that they weren’t going to abandon him? “I had a bad dream, when I got up I was dizzy and the room felt like it was spinning. I just wanted it to stop. I remember what happened after that, but it was like I was seeing everything from outside of myself.”

“Well you gave us quite the scare kid,” Sojiro said.

“Sorry.”

“How are you feeling now?” Yusuke asked.

“Better.”

Yusuke took his temperature again confirming that his fever had broken.

“You can both go if you want, I’m okay now, and I’ll probably just sleep some more.”

“Do you want us to go?” Sojiro asked.

Akira didn’t say anything, and that was as much an answer as anything verbal would have been.

“You don’t have to force yourself to get out of your mindset if you are not ready yet,” Yusuke said.

“I'm not…" he stopped when he saw how transparent the lie was to both of them. "Are you sure?”

“Caring for you is no hardship.”

Akira raised an eyebrow, and crossed his arms.

Yusuke stood his ground. Yes, the cleanup had taken some time, but it was no hardship for him. He liked being able to take care of someone, and the fact that is that mental space, Akira's needs were far more simple, did nothing to change that.

Akira's disbelief melted into something like hope. The expression was fragile and heartbreaking. "I have to pee," Akira said suddenly, and he quickly got up, and went downstairs.

Both Sojiro and Yusuke saw that for the excuse that it was, but they decided to give him a moment to work through his emotions, whatever his mindset when he came back, they would both be there waiting to care for him.

~

Akira made his way into the bathroom, and pulled down his pajamas and underpants. Although, going to the bathroom was simply an excuse to get a moment to himself, he found himself peeing the moment he was sitting down.

It scared him how comfortable he had become with the routine that had been set up. Every weekend he was able to slide into his headspace, obtain unconditional love from friends it felt like he had known forever, but in reality had only had for months, and to top it off, he loved it. He was hopelessly addicted, and he knew that eventually, they would all tire of babying him, and he would be expected to suck it up, and act his age.

He bit his lip, and squoze his eyes shut, trying to hold back the tears he could feel coming. He cleaned himself up, flushed the toilet, and pulled up his clothes, before going to the sink to wash his hands. He gazed at himself in the mirror, and quickly looked away.

He'd go upstairs, and lay down, and hopefully fall asleep. It would be late night or early Monday when he woke up, and he could pretend like none of it had ever happened. He definitely have to take a weekend to himself to recuperate.

Before he could so much as open the door, the anguish of even thinking about withdrawing from his friends, and his Da-, and _Sojiro_ , hit him, and the tears he had barely managed to hold back began to flow.

His sobbing grew increasingly louder as he thought about how dependent he was becoming. He had let them in, let them see the part of him that he had hid from the world. He had given them the power to devastate him, and yet there was nothing he could do now. To clam up, and withdraw, would be equally as devastating as for them to abandon him, and he knew he would he hurting them. They were all so clear in their expression of love when he was Little, and he couldn't help wanting that. There was no way of winning. He should have been stronger that day, should have found a better hiding place.

A knock on the door broke through his thoughts. "Akira!" Yusuke sounded worried.

Akira tried to stop the tears, tried to respond, but it was just too hard, and his thoughts were too big. He just wanted everything to slow down and make sense.

Tearing the door open, he threw himself at Yusuke, the other boy was pushed back by the force of it, but his arms quickly came around him in a hug.

"Kira sowwy, Kira was bad and had accident and had big mean thoughts bout not being Little no more but want to be Little don't want have be Big forever no want hide again please no make me hide again Yu." Akira said hardly breathing between the words.

"Shhhhh don't cry." Yusuke said gently. He began to hum to him softly, trying to soothe his friend.

Akira calmed slightly at the sound. Then a hand started running gently through his hair. He looked up and saw Sojiro.

Sojiro gently wiped the tears from his face, and tapped his nose.

Akira couldn't help giggling at that, and with a bright smile, Sojiro did it again.

"Daddy stop!" Akira said still laughing. His voice was slightly muffled since he had pressed his face against Yusuke's chest.

The cry did nothing, but encourage Sojiro. He started to tickle Akira, and couldn't help laughing when a shriek, followed by wild laughter filled the room.

Not wanting to be left out, Yusuke joined in with the tickling. Tears were flowing from Akira's eyes again, but this time it was due to laughter.

When he finally 'escaped' he was still flushed from all the laughing. "No fair, Daddy and Yu not allowed to team up," he pouted.

"Did you know that?" Sojiro asked Yusuke.

"I had no idea. Were you aware?"

"Not at all."

Akira gave them a grumpy look, which was quite possibly the most adorable thing they had ever seen.

Yusuke tried not to smile. "I suppose we could paint now, if you feel up to it." 

"Good idea, I'll hang it on my wall at home when you're done," Sojiro said to Akira

"I not that good at painting," Akira whispered.

Sojiro walked over to him. "Anything you make will be perfect."

Akira looked at him, like he made the sun rise and the stars shine. That was at once heartbreaking and a priceless gift. No matter what anyone said there were no tears in his eyes as he gave Akira a quick hug.

The boys quickly got settled in a booth. A cloth had been placed to catch any extra paint, and Sojiro went into the kitchen and started lunch.

All of them knew this temporary distraction from the fear Akira had of being abandoned was just that, temporary, but it would take time for that fear to diminish, but for now, they were all content to spend what remained of their Sunday together. And if Sojiro happened to drive Yusuke back to his dorm so that the boy could be on time for school the next morning, since Akira needed someone to stay with him to be sure his fever didn't come back during the night, well he had errands on that side of town anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be my favorite chapter so far. I had to scrap an idea and then still managed to include it, I got to write Sojiro like an old softie (which he is) and Yusuke was caring for Akira. I also got to write a few scenes that I like a lot.


	7. Sojiro and Futaba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira isn't quite healthy and he gets cared for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sojiro is taking over this fic. I was trying to go in order of their awakenings, but Sojiro forced his way in, and took over this chapter.

Waking up the next morning was like a splash of cold water to a tired person’s face, somewhat unwelcome, but somehow refreshing, and necessary. Akira felt a lot better than he had the day before, and he was sure he could make it through school with no issues. After a quick wash up downstairs, he donned his uniform.

“If you don’t feel well you can stay home,” Sojiro offered.

For a moment, Akira sat there with an expression of shock, that had never been an option for him before. “I’m fine,” he said before returning his attention to eating his breakfast.

“Well just make sure you go to the nurse if you feel sick during the day, it won’t be a problem for me to come to get you, no sense in pushing yourself when you don’t have to.”

Akira nodded, hearing the hidden meaning in his words, the man was not only talking about his physical health, and he quickly set about finishing his breakfast so that so that he could hide just how happy he was that the man had offered to do that.

~

“You okay?” Ryuji asked as they were walking to school together.

Akira swallowed, trying not to show how touched he was at the other boy’s concern. He must look a bit out of it, for his friend to be so concerned though. Once upon a time, he would have locked away his vulnerability or told a half truth, perhaps changed the subject, but now with as close as he was to the other boy, he couldn’t deflect like that.

“What has Yusuke said about this weekend?”

“He said that you guys had a lot of fun, even though you were sick for a lot of the time, and he said that you were ticklish.”

Despite himself, Akira blushed. “I still feel a little sick,” he admitted, and I wasn’t really ready… for the weekend to be over.”

Ryuji moved closer to him, understanding what he meant, and Akira was grateful for his friend’s presence, and soaked up the offered comfort.

~

By the time they had gotten to school, Akira was calmer, and able to make it to lunch period with no problems.

Ann, and Ryuji joined him for lunch, and Morgana slipped away, promising to be back before lunchtime was over. He was probably going to the roof to look for Haru, since she often bought sushi, just so Morgana could have some of it.

“Maybe you should have stayed home today,” Ann said, seeing how drained Akira appeared after a little less than half a day of school, “I’m sure the Boss wouldn’t have minded.”

“He offered to let me stay home, but I wanted to come to school.”

“Why?” Ann asked, feeling his head for a fever.

He blushed, both at the touch, and that his reaction was to lean into it. Thankfully, the blush was masked by his low-grade fever. “I wanted to see you guys,” he mumbled, aware that they were being watched.

Ryuji and Ann traded looks at that, both wondering how this boy, who they hadn’t even known for a year, could look so adorable. Before this year, such intense connections would have scared them, but now, with it was par for the course, and it all started with Akira. After another look at Akira, they looked back at one another, each seeing the worry that Akira was going to slip into his Little mindset, and knowing they needed to get him somewhere private just in case.

Everything, after Ann checking his temperature was a bit fuzzyt. Akira thought he heard concerned voices, but everything sounded too far away, and he didn’t have enough energy to make out a word that was said.

When he woke up, he was being carried. His heart rate skyrocketed, because he couldn’t remember the last time someone was held him like this, and then he opened his eyes, and saw Sojiro. His mental age plummeted like a chunk of cement thrown in a river.

He remembered being in class, and then nothing, so he must have passed out, and they had called Sojiro to come pick him up, which was something that he had wanted to avoid.

“Sowwy,” he murmured, unable to find any other words.

“You should have just stayed home kid,” the man said gruffly.

“Kira know, thought was good enough, always was before.”

“You used to go to school when you were sick?”

Akira closed his eyes. “Mmmhmmm,” he hummed. “Kira stay quiet an no one said nothing.”

Sojiro buckled Akira into the passenger seat. As he rounded the car, he clenched his fists. Who in their right mind would let a kid go to school when they were actually sick?

On one hand, he was guilty of it as well, however, when the boy had left he was definitely in the mindset that matched his chronological age, and Sojiro was sure that if anyone started treating him as though he was always Little, the boy would dam up that adorable, affectionate side, and none of them would ever see it again.

On the other hand, the boy’s parents had no such excuse, back then, he was a child in body and mind, and it hurt to imagine the level of neglect Akira must have endured.

Taking a deep breath, he got into the car. Akira’s eyes were instantly on him. “Daddy mad at Kira?”

“Of course not,” Sojiro said. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Should have made it through day at school.”

“You can’t help being sick,” Sojiro said.

“Should be self-sufficient.”

Sojiro was glad he had started the car yet, with the way he startled, it was likely that he might have gotten into an accident. Akira’s way of talking was childish, purposely so, it was the clearest way to show what mental space he was currently in. He avoided big words, but the tone he used for ‘self-sufficient’, was too similar to his speech when he was Little. It was said a little slower than the rest of his words, but in the same tone.

Had the adults in Akira’s life been that blind? Had they truly just attributed his behavior to an uncommon amount of maturity and been done with it?

Sojiro sighed, he couldn’t let this lie. “I’m not sure how you stop being Little, but we need to talk.”

A tense silence came into the car, and Sojiro could practically feel the struggle in Akira. When the boy opened his eyes, they were guarded. “Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t apologize. It’s perfectly fine if you want to spend the rest of the day in that mental space, but I just need to talk to you about...all this, and I don’t think it can wait.”

“What do you want to know?” came the weary response.

“Just listen, and tell me if I’m wrong.” Sojiro closed his eyes, before speaking again. “It’s clear that you didn’t have an ideal childhood, and that your parents were...not very attentive. It’s the little things that show it,” and at the phrase he couldn’t help glancing at Akira, and saw that the irony of the phrase was not lost on him. “At times you seem so much older than you are, knowing that other side of you, lets me see how much you were affected, but it also gives me a way help you heal.”

Sojiro paused for a moment.

“You’re not wrong,” Akira admitted softly. “You have a question though. What is it?”

“Did… did anyone ever...take advantage of your parents inattentiveness?”

It took only a second to see what he was being asked. If he hadn’t viewed Sojiro as a father figure before, this would have been the moment that he did.

Akira shook his head. “No, nothing like that, I had a few bullies, since I was so quiet, but nothing truly awful ever happened.”

Sojiro sighed. He may not be the most religious of men, but he was truly grateful for whatever power had kept this boy from becoming a victim of some immoral person.

His thoughts were interrupted by a yawn from the young man beside him.

“Get some rest kid, I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

Despite that promise, Sojiro did no such thing, the boy was clearly exhausted, and needed his rest. After parking the car, he went around, and lifted the boy from the passenger’s seat. He weighed far too little, in Sojiro’s opinion. He got the boy inside the house quickly, it was a bit of a struggle to open the door with his arms full of the lanky teen, but he managed. Once inside, he laid him on the bed in the guest room, removed his shoes, his uniform pants, and the blazer, leaving him clad in his shirt, and underwear.

After that, he tucked him in, and headed for the kitchen to make some soup for when Akira woke up.

“Hey Dad,” Futaba said, “I thought I heard you come in.”

It still felt like a minor miracle to see the girl outside her room, and hearing her call him Dad, would never stop making him extremely happy.

“Akira will be staying the night here with us, is that okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Is something wrong at the cafe?”

Sojiro shook his head. “He had a fever this weekend, and seems to have made it worse by going to school today.”

“He’s such a dummy sometimes.” Futaba sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“He always wants to help everybody else, and does whatever we want to do when we hang out, but when he needs help, of course it’s not important.” Futaba said with a huff.

Sojiro was torn between wanting to laugh, and wanting to go back into that room, and knock some sense into the boy. No wonder his friends had jumped at the chance to smother him with affection once they had found a way that he would accept it.

A muffled scream, and a thump had them running to the guest room.

Akira was huddled in the corner, head resting on his knees, and arms wrapped tightly around his legs. Sojiro turned on the lights. Akira didn’t seem to notice the change in the brightness of the room. When they got closer, they noticed that he was speaking. Leaning in they were able to make out the words he was saying. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was trying to help. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

The apologies kept tumbling from his lips. First instinct was to comfort him, but it was clear that he was having a panic attack, and anything they did to comfort would likely make it worse. The best thing they could do would be to calm him down first.

“Akira, you are at my house. There is nothing to be scared of here. Nothing can hurt you here.”

“This house is my safe space,” Futaba added, “it can be yours too. Whatever you are thinking about isn’t here I promise.”

Akira lifted his head slowly, looking at them with wide-eyed fear. Slowly, he seemed to recognize them. He hesitantly reached out a hand to touch Sojiro, and it landed on the man’s shirt. Akira’s grip tightened momentarily, and then relaxed.

With his other hand, he wiped away the tears, and then proceeded to take several deep breaths. “Sorry,” he said again, but this time it was clear that he was talking to them.

Both Futaba, and Sojiro wanted to know what memories had caused such a reaction, but neither of them were prepared to cause more panic for the purpose of satisfying curiosity.

Akira let out a quiet groan.

“What’s the matter?” Sojiro asked.

“Nothing. I’m just… embarrassed. I’m normally a lot more capable than this.”

“Like either of us don’t know that,” Futaba said with an eyeroll. “You’re always doing everything for everyone, you’re allowed to be weak sometimes.”

Akira looked stunned, and it was painful to think that that was something that he hadn't heard enough times not to be surprised by it.

“Futaba, come on, you can help me make something to eat.”

“Alright,” she agreed, easily seeing that he wanted to give Akira some time to recover without an audience.

When they left the room, Akira took a moment to compose himself. Now that he was breathing normally, and not scared out of his mind from a nightmare, he could see that this room was nothing like the one in the juvenile detention facility he had stayed in during the trial.

When he stood up, he noticed a pressing need. He left the room, and went across the hall to the bathroom. After finishing his business, he washed his hands and took a look in the mirror. His eyes were red, and slightly puffy, the fever still had him slightly flushed, and his hair was wild from tossing on the bed.

He patted down his hair as best he could, and splashed his face with some cool water. Once he was done, he headed back into the room he had awoken in. He saw his pants laying across a chair, and pulled them on. His phone fell from his pocket as he did so, and he picked it up.

He wasn’t surprised to see he had a few unseen messages. One from Ryuji, another from Ann, and one more from Futaba.

He sent replies to Ryuji, and Ann, letting them know he was okay, and then read Futaba’s message. ‘Are you free today?’

The time stamp showed it was sent a few minutes ago, so it could only mean one thing.

He took a breath, and, after a few minutes, he walked out the door.

He could hear Futaba, and Sojiro talking in the kitchen. Sojiro was cooking on the stove, so Futaba saw him first. Her gaze was gentle and questioning.

“What Daddy making Taba?”

“His world famous soup,” Futaba answered with a smile.

“I wouldn’t say world famous,” Sojiro argued playfully. “But I will admit it is well known in the neighborhood.”

“World famous,” Futaba whispered, and Akira giggled.

At that moment Futaba understood what Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke meant when they said he was adorable.

“Can we play while the soup cooks?” Futaba asked.

“Go ahead, I’ll call you two when it’s done.”

“Let’s go,” Futaba said offering her hand to him. Akira took it, smiling shyly at her.

She led him to the sitting room, and dashed off to retrieve one of the things she had bought for him. “I thought we could put this together,” she said. In her hand was a large 48 piece floor puzzle. It was animal themed, and had a lion, a tiger, a bear, a fox, an elephant, and a giraffe.

“Kira loves puzzles,” he said happily.

Together they worked on it. Futaba praised when he found pieces that fit together, and when they finished it, she gave him a big hug.

“The soup is ready,” Sojiro called out.

Together they put the puzzle away, and went to wash their hands. Then the two of them went to the table. Three places had been set, and the warm soup was already in bowls.

“Do you need help?” Sojiro asked Akira.

Akira shook his head. He grasped the spoon, and slowly began to eat the soup. It was super good, and he couldn’t help humming happily as he ate more spoonfuls. Before he knew it the bowl was empty. He looked at it sadly, but didn’t say anything.

“What’s the matter, little one?” Sojiro asked.

“Nothing Daddy,” Akira answered.

“It doesn’t look like nothing, if something is wrong please tell me.” Sojiro pressed gently.

“I wants more,” he whispered.

“Of course you can have more,” Sojiro said. He got up and filled the bowl again.

Akira gazed at it with watery eyes. “Thank you Daddy,” he said, voice thick with tears.

“You can always ask for more,” Sojiro said softly.

“Dad always makes enough to feed an army,” Futaba added.

“At home there was never more,” Akira whispered.

“Well, here, there is always more, and even if there isn’t, I will make more. So never be afraid to ask, alright?”

Akira broke, tears running freely down his face.

“Come here buddy,” Sojiro said, after standing up. Akira launched himself at the older male.

“Kira sowwy,” he cried.

“Shhhh,” Sojiro shushed him.

He looked helplessly at Futaba.

Futaba ran to her room, and got another gift she had gotten for him. When she came back, they were still as she had left them. She gently rubbed the fur of the stuffed animal on his Akira’s face.

He turned his tearsteaked face toward her a little.

“Look what I got for you. He could use a friend, and a name,” she said.

Akira turned more, distracted by the stuffed bear. It was brown, with black marble eyes. He was clothed in a little suit, and had a mischievous smile. He reached for the bear, and Futaba handed to him.

He hugged the bear, instantly loving how fluffy and soft it was. “Thank you Taba.”

“Are you ready to finish eating?”

Akira nodded, then he sat down, he held his new bear in one hand, and ate with his other.

Once they had cleaned up, Futaba asked, “Did you think of a name for him?”

Akira nodded shyly.

“Will you tell me?”

“Pwomise not laugh?”

“Of course.”

“Kay. His name Logan.”

“That’s a good name.”

Akira smiled happily.

“Do you and Logan want to go color?”

Akira nodded.

Once Sojiro took care of the dishes, he joined them in the sitting room. Futaba and Akira were on the floor coloring pictures, and he sat on the couch content to watch them.

Soon, Akira fell asleep, and Sojiro took him to the bed in the guest room. Futaba crawled in beside him, and Sojiro smiled approvingly. Akira cuddled up to her, and Logan was a little crushed between them.

Sojiro clicked off the light, and left the door open a crack, before going back to the sitting room, and turning on the tv. He kept the volume low, wanting to be sure he could hear if either of his kids called out for him.


	8. Futaba and Sojiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More bonding with Futaba and Sojiro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone wanted more Futaba, and this idea came to me, and was quickly finished so a double dose update. Yay!

Akira woke from his nap warm and happy. Logan, his stuffed bear was still in his arms, and Futaba was cuddled up to him. He blinked slowly, and just lay there enjoying the moment.

He must have dozed, because the next thing he knew, Futaba was awake, and watching him with a gentle look that called to that younger part of him.

“Tank you for napping wit me,” he said.

“No problem. Are you ready to get up or do you want to rest more?”

“Up,” he said.

The two of them got out of the bed, and once again Futaba offered her hand to him. He took it in the hand that wasn’t holding Logan bear.

When they got to the sitting room, they found that Sojiro had dozed off on the couch.

Futaba noticed a frown on Akira’s face.

“What’s the matter?”

“Daddy did lots for me. I no think Kira is worth that much.”

“Hey, that’s not true. Dad doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do when it comes to us.”

“What if he gets tired of Kira?” he whispered.

“He won’t.”

“How Taba know?”

“Because he never gave up on me.”

Akira hugged her. “Sowwy, no want Taba remember bad stuff.”

“It’s okay, but that’s why I know he won’t leave you. Hey how about we make him something.”

“Pwesent?”

“Mmmhmm.”

Akira nodded enthusiastically.

“Let’s go.”

~

When Sojiro woke up he was stunned to find a few hours had passed. After a quick stretch, he walked down to the guest room. A moment of pure panic came over him when he found the room empty, then he chided himself for it. It wasn’t like they were truly children, and had they gone out Akira would have surely been his chronological age. There was also the possibility they were somewhere else in the house.

Sighing he went to Futaba’s room. The door was locked, so he knocked. Feeling a bit silly he said, “Little pig, little pig, let me in.”

“Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin,” Futaba answered with a laugh, and he heard a muffled giggle too.

“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow the door down.”

Futaba laughed again, but the door opened.

“What are you two up to?” Sojiro asked.

“We tell him Taba?!” Akira asked bouncing in place.

“Tell me what?”

“Kira and I made something for you,” Futaba said.

“Let’s go sit on the couch,” the girl suggested.

Curious, Sojiro let her lead him.

When they got to the sitting room, Sojiro sat down, and Futaba sat on one side, and Akira on the other.

“Now?!” he asked again.

Futaba smiled, and nodded.

A poorly wrapped package was thrust into Sojiro’s hands. “It is Christmas already?” he asked.

“Silly Daddy,” Akira laughed.

Sojiro smiled, and opened the present. Inside was a handmade book held together by staples. The cover held the title, which was written with black marker. Daddy is Awesome.

The first page repeated the title and said, by Futaba, and Kira.

The next page said, Daddy is Awesome because: he loves me. The first part was clearly written by Futaba, and the second part by Akira. There was a picture under the words that showed to figures, who he guessed were meant to represent he and Akira, hugging.

The page next to it said, Dad is Awesome because: he believes in me. The picture was of Sojiro and he had a shirt on that said #1 fan.

Sojiro turned the page.

Daddy is Awesome because: he is a good cook. The picture was of curry, there was a cup with steam lines, and a bowl with steam lines.

Dad is Awesome because: he protects me. The picture was of Sojiro with a sword and cape.

He turned the page.

Daddy is Awesome because: he took me in. The picture was a crying Akira, there was an arrow to a happy Akira, and the several figures around him, clearly meant to be his friends.

Dad is Awesome because: he took me in. The picture was a sad Futaba. There was an arrow drawn to a picture of he and Futaba hugging. Then another of Futaba surrounded by the same group Akira had drawn.

The last page said, We love you, and the picture was of Akira and Futaba.

Sojiro closed the book.

“Daddy not like?” Akira asked in a small voice.

Sojiro tried to speak, he truly did, but he couldn’t. He was robbed of his voice by the lump in this throat. Without words, he grabbed both of them up in a fierce hug.

“I love you both so much,” he managed, voice rough with emotion.

Akira pulled back a little, shocked to see Sojiro crying.

“Not mean make Daddy cry,” he said sadly.

“I’m happy,” Sojiro assured him. “So happy to have both of you.”

“We are happier to have you,” Futaba said.

Sojiro’s only option was to hug them both closer.

Eventually, Sojiro was able to regain his voice. “So,” he said, “what are we having for dinner?”

Futaba, and Akira didn’t even look at one another before answering in unison, “Curry!”

~

After dinner, it was time for bed since Sojiro, and Akira had to be up in the morning. He saw them both to bed, and gave Akira a pair of his pajamas to wear for the night. They were a little large, but the string held them in place well enough.

Sojiro was almost asleep when he heard a timid knock at his door. With a slight groan, he got up to see what his kid needed. He was completely surprised to find both Akira and Futaba on the other side of the door.

They both looked at him shyly before looking away.

“Come on in,” he sighed, not bother to hide the smile on his face.

Cuddled together in the bed, the three of them fell fast asleep. There were no nightmare that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how this happened, but it is finished so it got put up. No idea when the next update will be though. Please comment folks it gives me great ideas, and produces quicker updates.


	9. Makoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto's turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever to write, but it is long, and it just didn't want to stop

Akira woke up completely refreshed and ready to start the day. 

“Finally up I see,” Sojiro said from beside him. 

Akira covered his face with his hands as the previous night came back to him all at once. “Any chance you’ll forget everything that happened yesterday?”

A laugh from the man beside him was all the answer that he needed. 

“Come on kid, we still have to go to the cafe so that you can get ready for the day.”

Akira nodded, refusing to look up even as Sojiro laughed at him. 

'Mean old man' he thought to himself.

"Who are you calling an old man?" Sojiro asked.

Akira looked up in shock, had he spoken aloud by mistake?

Sojiro smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I'm not Little right now," he said.

"I know that, doesn't mean that I can't show you some affection though."

The surprised expression he got in return was more than a little heartbreaking.

"Breakfast," Futaba whined. 

Sojiro was grateful for the distraction, and judging by the way she was looking at him she had known he would be.

Pasting on a smile he said, "Alright, alright, we have to be quick about it though, he still needs to get ready for school."

~

Akira was being watched, and normally he would hate it because it would mean that someone thought he was some kind of murderous delinquent, right now he was struggling not to smile, because it was his friends that were watching, and from the sheer number of texts they were sending, it was one hundred percent certain that they were keeping Yusuke, and Futaba informed. 

During lunch, they all met up on the roof. “I’m fine,” Akira assured them, laughing at the incredulous looks he got. “I want to go to Mementos today,” he added.

The way they calmed was almost comical, but it made sense. Akira knew he had the tendency to say he was fine when he wasn’t, it was a hardwired character trait at this point, but in the Metaverse, he was always honest with them. A lie, even a white one, could be dangerous in the cognitive world, and all of them trusted that he would never jeopardize their safety, and he was not stupid enough or foolish enough to betray them.

~

Saturday morning he woke to a text from Makoto. ‘Would you like to spend the weekend together? My sister is on a business trip so this weekend would be optimal.’

‘Alright.’ he sent back.

'Would you like to go home with me after school?’ came the reply. 

‘Is it alright if we stop by Leblanc first? I have a few things I want to have.’

‘No problem.’ 

~

The school day was over in the blink of an eye, and before Akira knew it, he and Makoto were walking through the door of Leblanc. 

Akira went upstairs and threw a few things into an overnight bag. A pair of normal clothes, since spending the night was par for the course at this point, his race car pjs, a picture book he had found nestled in amongst the other books that had once cluttered his room, and his toothbrush. 

"Are you ready to go?" Makoto asked as she came up the stairs. "It's been a while and I wondered if you…" she trailed off when she saw his face. 

It was a look that she had only seen a handful of times. It was the look he got when they needed to retreat from an encounter with a shadow. One that showed that there was nothing to be done.

Looking at the bed she saw a plushie version of Arsene, a pink blanket with an elephant head, and a teddy bear.

"What's the matter?" she asked gently suspecting that she may not be talking to Big Akira anymore.

"You weekend with me. Kira wants bring friends."

"Why can't you?"

"Not fair for Mako. Not take them wit me before."

Makoto nodded in understanding. "Bring them," she said. "I don't mind, and I wouldn't want them to be lonely while you were away."

Akira smiled happily and put Ari, El, and Logan, into the duffle. "Jus for now," he assured them, "Not safe for others see you all." With that, he zipped up the bag.

"Ready Mako!" he announced. When she didn't move, he frowned. "Mako okay?"

Makoto snapped out of her thoughts. She had been wondering if she should ask him to age up for the trip to her house. 

Deciding to just go with the flow, lest she give him a reason to be insecure around her in Littlespace, she said, "I'm ready I was just thinking about what we should have for dinner."

Were he not in his Little headspace he certainly would have called her on the lie, as it was he just smiled, slipped his hand into hers.

His expression closed a bit as be walked down the stairs, and she could tell he was between headspaces. The response seemed practiced, and it made her wonder how much of the time he had spent with them as silent as he was now, had been a shallow form of Littlespace for him.

"You kids have fun," Sojiro called. 

Akira looked torn for a second, but one look around showed only one customer who seemed entranced by his phone, so he dashed around the counter, and gave Sojiro a quick hug. 

Sojiro, ever the big, strong, brave, man that he was, did not have to turn around and breathe deeply a few times to ward off tears, because his boy had not whispered, "love you Daddy, be back soon," to him as he hugged him.  
~ 

The train ride was quiet, and not overly crowded. They sat next to each other, and for the majority of the ride Akira seemed content to doze. 

He was sleepy and compliant when they got to her house. She held his bag, and guided him to the couch. She'd decided to let him use her bed that night, but for now the sofa was better since she could set things up, and still look after him.

After covering him up with a throw blanket, she went to see what would make a good snack for when he got up.

After getting down some peanut butter crackers, and making sure there was some juice in the refrigerator, she laid out the movies that she felt Akira might like to see.

It was when she was laying out a few books that she had kept purely out of sentiment, that she heard it.

In the half hour since they had arrived, the house had been silent, aside from the noise of her movements, but then she heard a whimper. She quickly went over to him, and found him twisted in the blanket, clearly having a nightmare. She was reluctant to wake him, not wanting to add to his terror, so she knelt on the floor, and began to run her fingers through his hair, while talking softly to him.

Slowly, the wild movements stopped, and he opened his eyes.

Makoto smiled at him. "Hey there," she said softly.

He didn't say anything, and simply rose his fingers to his mouth to bite on them.

"Don't do that," she said gently. 

He looked at her, his gray eyes filled with tears. 

She reached into her pocket, grateful that she had thought to put one of her gifts for him in there. "This will be better than your fingers," she said as she pulled the item out of the bag it was in, and handed it to him.

The item was a pair of dog tags made from a nontoxic rubber. From far away, one would think they were real, but the tags were really for children with an oral fixation. 

She had found it online after a brief search. Yusuke had mentioned that Akira had a habit of biting on his fingers when stressed or confused, and she didn't want him to hurt himself.

He looked at them, then at her. She nodded, and he gave one of the tags a small nibble. He looked at it again, before happily biting on it again. 

Makoto smiled, happy that he liked them, and undid the clasp on the attached chain so that she could put it around his neck.

"Would you like a snack?"

Akira shook his head, unwilling to be parted from the tags just yet.

"How about a movie then? I have a few that I think you will like."

Akira nodded.

Makoto got the movies, and sat on the sofa beside Akira. He looked over the cases before pointing to the one in the middle. It had a bunny and a fox on the cover. 

"Good choice," she said.

He glowed at the praise, and she made a mental note to give him a lot of praise. Once again she had to force herself to stop thinking about the circumstances that brought Akira to them as broken as he was, and focus on her part in healing that hurt.

While she set up the movie, Akira went to his bag, and bounded back to the couch with his three plush toys.

"Do you want to introduce me to your friends before we start the movie?"

Akira reluctantly let the tag drop from his mouth, and held up the elephant blanket first. "Dis is El, Ryu gave me him." Next was the Arsene plush. "His name Ari, Sissy gave me him, and dis Logan, he from Taba."

"Pleased to meet you," Makoto said to each of them solemnly. 

She felt a little silly, but it was more than worth it to see how happy it made Akira. 

"Are you all ready for the movie?"

Akira nodded enthusiastically. 

~

About halfway through the movie, Akira realized that he needed to go to the bathroom. The movie so good though, but he had learned his lesson about waiting. It was hard though because he had to ask, and that was a very scary thing. He knew it was stupid though, because he knew for a fact that any of his friends would be kind about the situation. Why was he so afraid?

In his nervousness, he almost bit on his fingers, but he remembered the tags, and bit on them instead.

Makoto noticed him biting on his tags, and paused the movie. "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.

"Kira not know," he said letting the tags fall.

"What's the matter?"

"Gotta… gotta go rweally bad an super scared ask an not know why." 

Makoto took a second to puzzle that out, he had spoken very fast. "Well let's get that taken care of," she said grabbing his hand and leading him down the hall.

Once he was settled, she left the bathroom leaving the door open just a bit, just in case he needed her help. 

It took him a few minutes to finish up, and then she heard the toilet flush. When he washed his hands, and came out, she led him back to the couch. When they were both comfortable, she asked him a question. "Why were you so scared to ask when you needed to go so badly?"

"Not know. Jus having ask make me scared." Akira frowned. He really didn't know why the thought of having to ask for the bathroom made him afraid, but it did, and that not knowing, was scary all on its own. 

~

Makoto could see that Akira was close to panicking. There was something worrying here, given his reaction, chances were that it was some bad memory that had been long buried. That could be puzzled out later, for now it would be better to distract him from his thoughts.

"Okay,” she said brightly, “let’s finish the movie. Where were we?” she asked.

“Train sploded,” Akira said.

“Oh yes, I remember now,” she said brightly. “Let’s see if the two of them can get away safely.” With that she started up the movie again.

As the movie played, Akira inched his way across the space between them. He seemed really nervous, but he was adorable. Makoto pretended not to notice, until the point that he was really close to her, and then with quick motions, she pulled him into a cuddle. He was surprised, but his bright smile advertised how happy he was about the outcome.

“We watch more movie Mako?” he asked once the credit song was over.

“Hmmm, it might be better to start on dinner before you get too tired.”

Akira frowned, but made no move to argue.

“However, if you still want to watch another one after dinner, we can put something in.”

Akira smiled happily.

“Come on,” she said.

Akira looked at her in clear confusion.

“You’re helping me make dinner,” she said.

“Rweally?”

“Of course.”

Makoto got out the bowls and utensils, and gave Akira a large spoon. While she cooked the rice, and put the chicken in the oven, he mixed the muffin batter.

It was a messy job but he was determined to do a good job, and managed to avoid making a big mess.

Once he was done, Makoto came over, and looked. She gave him an approving smile, and went to get the muffin tray so that they would be ready to bake.

“Mako?” he asked, when she sat down.

“Yes?”

“Can Kira tells you something?”

“Of course.”

“I scared sometime that I can be so Little.”

“Why?”

“Cause was super scared before to tell now Kira slip lots and lots super fast. Sometime not want be Big an hafta be.”

“Maybe it’s that you know you can,” she suggested.

“No get it.”

“You were hiding, and now you see how much we all like this part of you.” Seeing that he was still confused she thought up a suitable analogy. “Imagine you had a favorite food, and one day it stopped being made. You miss it a whole lot, and want it.”

“Daddy’s curry. Would miss lots and lots.”

“Now pretend that it never gets made for a long, long time, and then one day, it’s back. What would you do?”

“Eats lots and lots.”

“Now let’s say you get promised the curry would never disappear again. Then you would slow down because you’ll know it was always there when you wanted it. That’s what happening here. You finally get to be Little so you are doing it lots and lots, hopefully you see how much we care about you when you’re Little, and when your Big, and it will be easier to be both ways.”

Akira seemed to think about that. His fingers drifted to his mouth, before he remembered the tags, and bit on them instead. “Mako super smart,” he said finally.

“So are you.”

“Nuh-uh.”

Makoto frowned at that. 

Akira looked down guiltily, “Sworry,” he said.

“No, i just wish you wouldn’t say mean things about yourself.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. 

“Why don’t you color while we wait for dinner?” Makoto asked changing the topic.

“Kira loves color.”

He managed to finish two pictures before dinner was ready. The chicken was super good, and the rice was yummy too. He had a sippy cup of juice to go with it, and muffins for dessert.

Of course, he kicked his legs happily as he ate, and Makoto decided it was every bit as cute as the others thought to see Akira clearly enjoying his food.

~

After dinner, they managed another movie, this one about animals singing in a contest, before Akira was clearly ready for bed. A quick trip to the bathroom, was the last task before tucking him in for the night, and reading him a story.

After he was asleep, stuffed toys, tucked in with him, Makoto made her way to bed. Sleeping in her sister’s room wasn’t something she did often, but it would be fine for one night.

A few hours later she woke up. She was confused as to why she was up, but something had woken her. She listened for some sound, but the house was quiet. For a moment, she considered going back to sleep, but she couldn’t. She got out of bed, intending to head to the kitchen for a glass of water, but she stopped by her room on the way. 

The bed was empty, but before she could panic, she heard a sound. She turned on the light and saw him curled in a corner, clearly frightened.

“What’s the matter?” she asked. When there was no response she asked, “Did you have a bad dream?”

He nodded.

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?”

He shook his head. “Bad,” he choked out. 

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to, you don’t even have to talk right now.”

He looked at her, tear-filled eyes judging if she truly meant what she said. “Everyone hurt,” he said, tears coming more quickly as he spoke. Ryu, Sissy, Yu, Mako, Taba, Ru, Daddy, an Gana, all hurt an Kira no help an everyone hurt and cry and blood and no could help. Den kids at school an teachers say Kira useless an stupid and laugh. Den Kira wake up. No want sleep no more. Please Mako.”

“Oh, Little one, I’m so very sorry. You don’t have to go back to sleep until you’re ready. I have an idea. Come with me.”

She led him to the sitting room, it was only midnight now, so she sent out a group message. Responses poured in, and in minutes everyone was talking over one another. 

“Everyone, calm down, talk one at a time.”

“Is he okay?” Ann’s voice rang through.

“Sissy?” Akira asked in a broken voice.

Ann took a second to let the name sink in before saying, “Yes Kira, it’s me. Makoto said you had a bad dream.” Really she had typed he had a horrible, heartbreakingly bad nightmare.

“All you hurt and Kira no could help.”

“Little guy, we’re all fine,” Ryuji said.

“I am well,” Yusuke said, calm as he always was about any topic other than art.

“Do you need me to come get you?” Sojiro asked.

“Dad stop, wait why are you even here?” Futaba said.

“The cat was meowing so much I came to see if he was okay.”

“Ah such lovely family bonds,” Yusuke commented.

“Shut it, Inari.”

“We shouldn’t forget the reason for this call,” Haru cut in.

“I think he feels better now that he has heard all of your voices, “ Makoto answered.

Akira was giggling a bit at the turn the conversation had taken. His laughter was stopped by a yawn.

“And I think someone is ready to go back to sleep,” she said. “I’ll text you guys later okay.”

The all agreed.

“Nigh nigh,” Akira said sleepily.

“Goodnight,” everyone said back to him before ending the call.

Makoto walked him back to her room, but this time she stayed with him, she didn’t want him to wake from another nightmare without being there to reassure him as fast as she could that everything was alright. Thankfully there were no more nightmares that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more friend to go
> 
> Also the first scene was super fun to write, and it just kept going, it originally was like one line for transitional purposes, but then Sojiro decided he wanted more screentime, and so it was born.


	10. Haru

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru's turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written quickly and just kept going.

It was with a sense of dread that Akira approached Haru's house. For some reason, he was tempted to run away, to bury his head in the sand, and he really didn't know why.

It wasn't Haru. He knew that much. She may have been a recent addition to the group, but she was as much a part of the group as he was.

Taking a deep breath, and ignoring the churning ball of dread that had taken up residence in his stomach, he called Haru to let her know that he had arrived.

She let him in with a happy smile, and a bounce in her step. "Good evening," she said.

"Evening," he said back with a weak smile.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as she led him inside.

"Ye-" he started to say, but he realized how counterproductive it would be to lie at the moment. If he put up walls now there was no way he would be able to be Little. "I don't feel so good," he admitted.

"Are you sick again?" Haru asked her worry clear on her face.

"Don't think so. I just feel...nervous and scared and I'm not sure why."

"Is it me?" she asked with a forced calm.

"No!" he said quickly. Then be blushed and looked down at his feet. "I feel nervous and sick, but I want to be here, and Little with you. These feelings are so complicated."

"Can I hug you?"

Akira looked at her startled.

"I don't like seeing you upset," she said softly. "Humans are a lot like plants, you have to care for them so they grow big and strong. So can I hug you?"

He nodded slowly.

She walked over, giving him time to change his mind, and when she reached him she slowly pulled him into a hug.

For a moment, he stood still in her embrace, and she was tempted to pull back, but some instinct made her hang on just a little longer.

With all the speed of continental drift, Akira's arms wrapped around her. The loose embrace was tightened when his fingers clutched tightly at her top. That hold was all the warning she had before the sobbing started.

She tried to pull away a little, just to see if there was a way to pinpoint the reason for his tears, but he clung harder, unwilling to let her go.

It hurt a lot to hear the pained cries, and it was even worse because she cared so deeply for him. Worse still was that she was unsure just what headspace he was in. Was this Big Akira breaking down or Little Akira struggling to express himself, and lacking a way to do it? Perhaps it was some mixture of the two.

Well there was only one way to find out. She needed to interact with him, and he wasn't going to let her move, so she would just have to talk or maybe…

~

Akira's mind was in turmoil. Pain and fear were swirling, and he didn't know why, and the more he tried to understand the worse it all got.

Haru's hug made things better and worse. Now he had an anchor to hold him steady as the unreasonable amount of feeling assaulted him, but it also took his defense away. He no longer had to keep everything together, so of course, the sobs were able to break through.

Perhaps he would just cry until he was nothing but a small pile of dust or maybe he would cry an ocean and then drown in it cause he wouldn't be able to swim for days and days to get out of his ocean.

It was around the time he started to choke on his sobs, due to the way it was making him breathe, that he heard something.

He tried to focus, to understand. As he paid more attention, he found it easier to breathe. Then he realized what the sound was. Haru was singing to him. It was very soft, very sweet, and just what he needed.

"Sowwy Ruru," he managed to say.

"You're okay," she said sweetly.

He pulled away and she let him. His eyes were puffy and red, and the tear streaks showed clearly on his skin. He actually looked a bit tired, and that was probably part of the problem.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" she asked softly.

He shook his head, too tired to use his words.

"It is nap time for you then," she said softly. She grabbed his hand, and led him down a hall.

He followed with no hesitation.

~

Haru was grateful that she was the last of the group to care for Akira. It had been hard waiting her turn, and made even harder by the group chat as everyone became more involved. The good part was that she had a lot of time to prepare, and along with the tidbits of his behavior that the others had supplied, she had prepared for many scenarios. She was extremely happy for that, now that he was here with her.

He was clearly stressed before he arrived, and that was the most likely reason he had failed to bring anything with him.

She had several outfits for him, most clearly for his younger mindset, but there were a few items in there for his older self. She had stocked up on simple foods, after learning what the others had made for him, and she had gotten a cute stuffed owl for him to cuddle with.

There was another item that she bought as well. Something a little more embarrassing. After the close calls the others had told her about, and Makoto's warning that he was reluctant to speak up, she had bought some… protection. Given how nonverbal he seemed to be at the moment, and the far away gaze in eyes that were half open, he wouldn't be able to tell her what he needed right then. Of course, if he was resistant she would let the chips fall where they would.

Once he was in the room that would be his for his stay here, she tested the waters by helping him out of his shoes and socks.

He whined a little, since he didn't want to sit up now that he was on a bed, but made no other protest. Then she started on his shirt. He made no move to stop her.

Haru swallowed, wondering if she was ready for this. One look at Akira strengthened her resolve though. He was nibbling on a pair of dog tags, he was clearly very far into his headspace, and then he looked at her.

His eyes were still glassy from all the tears, but trust was just as evident in his expression.

With that she helped him out of the rest of his clothes, and into a diaper. Once that was done she dressed him in a huge black shirt with a white cat on the front. The white lettering on the front read, 'You've got to be kitten me'. The effect was that he looked like a little kid in a parent's shirt, which she was sure he would appreciate later.

Finally, she tucked him in the bed along with the owl plushie. With him asleep she took out her phone, and sat in a nearby chair.

She was tempted to converse with the others via the group chat, but she chose not to. Nobody had mentioned anything like what had just happened, and the fact that it affected him before he was in Littlespace, meant that the problem ran a lot deeper.

~

Akira woke up feeling like someone had traded his brains for a cotton ball of equal size. Everything was big in a way he found distressing and normally, be he Big or Little, he would be a little curious. The room was large, and the light from two small nightlights made it bright enough to see most of the features of it. There was even a toy chest in the corner and a rocking chair.

He knew in an instant that he was safe, but that just made it okay for him to cry. He tried to stay quiet, no sense in annoying the poor person caring for him, and he managed fairly well until he noticed it.

Everything seemed to freeze as he realized that it wasn't the fact that he was wearing a diaper that had him upset, it was the fact that it was _wet _.__

Part of him wanted to rip it off, and leave, but the louder part of him wanted someone else to fix it. That part got louder, and louder, until not even gnawing at his tags was enough to soothe him. His whines were turning to sobs, and he was ashamed, but unable to stop. He was scared because he had never felt as small as he did now, and he couldn't control it.

Haru coming into the room was all the motivation he needed to fully embrace his Little mindset.

~

Akira had slept for ten hours. That proved to Haru just how exhausted he was, and she was grateful that she had mustered up the courage to change him, who knew how he might have reacted had he woken to soaking wet sheets in an unfamiliar room.

It was four in the morning when she woke to muffled sobs coming from the baby monitor. Haru had long since learned how easily she awakened, and knew that she would be up the moment Akira needed anything.

She got out of bed, nightgown flowing around her as though being affected by a small amount of wind. Her hair was a bit of a mess, but she really couldn't care less at the moment. She rushed to Akira, and turned on the light in the room. He was sitting up, but curled in a way that made him look so tiny.

The owl plush was in his grasp, and the tags were the things muffling his cries. She spoke softly as she touched his arm, gauging his reaction. She was pleased to note that the sobs slacked up a bit

With that she climbed into the bed, and, after an infinitesimal pause, Akira latched on to her. She could feel the wetness where his face pressed against her, but she didn't mind, she was simply happy that her presence could provide such a large amount of comfort. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could, and managed to pull them into a rhythmic sway.

About ten minutes later, during an attempt to readjust, her fingers brushed his side, and he let out the cutest giggle she had ever heard.

She brushed that spot again, on purpose this time, and laughed herself as he began to wiggle away.

"No mo Ruru!" he cried out.

Haru resisted the urge to continue for a little longer, and let him go.

When she saw his face, he was completely flushed from both the laughing, and crying.

"Why were you so sad? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Ki no no an Big me no no. Feel baby Little an was scare an safe an wet."

Well she couldn't help him figure out what upset him so much if he had no clue in any headspace, but she could distract him for a while, and fix that last problem if he wanted her to.

"Would you like me to help you change?"

He nodded. He brought the tags back to his mouth, and said, "Ki no no how fix." The words were slurred, and 'fix' came out sounding more like 'fish', but she understood.

She got he laid on the bed, and pulled out his options. With a deep blush, he picked another diaper. "Kira still feel real small," he said.

She smiled. Letting him know it was okay either way, and proceeded to clean him up. He hid his face with his owl in a way that was far too adorable.

It was only four thirty, but neither of them were tired. "Shall we look at a movie?" she asked.

He nodded, and she put in one of her favorites since he didn't seem to care what they watched. She loved the furry monster and the cute little girl in this one, and Akira seemed to like it too, if his expression was anything to go by.

Perhaps they were more tired than it appeared because, it was around seven when she woke up again.

He was just waking up too. "Breakfast?" he asked hopefully.

She smiled, and lead him to the kitchen. She made pancakes and eggs.

Haru let him eat by himself with his plastic fork, he kicked his feet happily as he ate, until he dropped a piece of pancake on his shirt. It might not have been such a problem were it not for the fact that it was drenched in syrup.

"Sowwy, sowwy, sowwy," he cried.

"Shhhhh, it's okay, I promise."

"Not kay."

"It is," she insisted. "Syrup is messy, and sticky, and it was an accident."

"Kira not possed to make mess."

"Whose rule is that?"

He stopped, and stared at her.

"It's not my rule, and I don't think it is any of the others rule either. Sure we would like you to clean a mess you make, for example if you leave your toys out, you'd have to put them back, but a little syrup is no problem."

"But… sticky," he said, showing his hands.

"Nothing a little soap and water won't fix. In fact...how about a bath?"

Akira's eyes lit up like two miniature suns. It was at once adorable, because, as Haru was coming to see, most things he did in Littlespace could have that adjective applied, and painful, because he was far _too_ happy at the proposal.

~

Haru couldn't know that she was fulfilling one of his most secret fantasies. There was only one thing that would make it perfect. "Bubbles?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course," she said as though it should be clear that there would be bubbles.

He was positively bouncing as they walked to the bathroom. Haru turned on the taps, and added the bubble bath. That done, she helped him get his clothes off. Not even the shock of finding that he had once again wet, without noticing, was enough to dampen his enthusiasm.

After a quick wash off, she helped him into the bath. The water was just right, and he giggled as he attacked the bubbles. There was no way that this could get any better.

The Haru came back in. He pouted because he had been having too much fun to notice that she had left him, and he was sad that he did not notice, and upset that she had left him.

"Ru not possed leave!" he complained with a glare.

"I'm sorry," she said, and even as he was he could tell she was hiding some laughter.

He pouted more.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, this time more sincerely. "I thought you might want these though." With that she dumped in two rubber ducks, a few boats, a toy shark, and a dolphin shaped squirt toy.

As if all that wasn't enough to blow his mind, she handed over some water crayons.

"Thank you Ru," he said softly.

"You're welcome, Akira."

It took a few minutes, but he lost himself in the toys. He drew a forest on the wall with the green crayon, and had the ducks explore it.

When the forest caught on fire, shown by red squiggles on the trees, the boats rescued the ducks, and were towed back to the water by the shark and dolphin. Then they all had a party to celebrate.

"It's time to get out Little one."

He looked at her with shock.

She smiled back apologetically. "The water is cold, and more importantly," she said dipping her hand in the water, and pulling out his arm, "you've gotten all wrinkly."

He made a face that clearly said 'yuck' and then, as though it wasn't clear, he actually said, "yuck."

Haru laughed, and helped him out of the bath, and into a fluffy towel.

Once he was dry, she helped him back to the room. "What do you want to wear?" she asked him, knowing that he would want some say now that he was acting a bit older.

He picked out another oversized shirt, this one was dark blue. It had a black horse, reared on its hind legs. The text was white, and read, 'Stop horsing around,'.

The underwear choice showed how young he felt though. She had given him three choices, and he had chosen the pull-up.

"Are you ready for something fun?" Haru asked.

"Bath not fun?" Akira asked confused.

"Yes that was fun wasn't it?"

He nodded, a bit unsure.

"Well I meant are you ready for _more_ fun?"

He smiled, and nodded, looking very much like an overexcited bobble head.

She offered her hand, and he grabbed it with no hesitation. In another room of the house, she had inflated a rather large pool, and filled it with balls, making a homemade ballpit.

Akira was practically vibrating with eagerness. "Go ahead," she said. She was actually surprised he was able to wait for permission.

At her words, he leapt into the pool. He laughed as he waded around, face showing just how surprised he was by the depth of the pool.

"Having fun?" she tossed out, not that she needed the answer given how he was still playing and it had been about a half hour.

He looked at her, then quick as a flash, he was out of the pool, and had her crushed in a hug.

"Thank you Ru, luv you."

"I love you too, Akira."

"Rweally, you like me, even tho I Little?"

"Of course I do. You mean a lot to me. I know it took a while for this day to happen because of the order we went in, but it was no less true then than it is now."

She could almost feel the shift in the air around her, as that playful young mentality retreated, and his adult self came to the fore.

She backed away only to find him frozen. His eyes stared aimlessly in front of him, and he seemed completely unaware of where he was.

Then, suddenly he was in motion. He raced down the hall, and into the bathroom. Haru was hesitant to follow him in given his mental state, but even outside the door she could hear the sound of him being sick.

When the sounds died off, and the toilet flushed, she knocked on the door. After a moment of quiet, she went in, and found him laying on the floor.

"Sorry," he said.

"Let's get you to bed so you can get some rest."

He gave a small nod, and she helped him up. Once they were in the room, she tucked him into bed, and watched over him while he fell asleep. All the while, she wondered what Akira had realized that was so bad, that he had become physically ill as a result, and what could be done to help him feel better, so that she could help make it happen _ _ _ _.____

Haru gazed at him as Akira slept. "Please tell me what's wrong, I really hate seeing you so upset. Could it be this is my fault, and you just don't want to say so?"

Haru sighed, knowing all she could do was wait, and hope that he would choose to confide in someone, before he was affected even more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be fluffy I swear but Akira choose to be all angsty. T_T 
> 
> Let me know if you know what's worrying him. I think it's fairly obvious, but I'm writing it so...


	11. More than imagined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Problem solved

Haru and the others were watching him. He knew that, despite not meaning to, he had worried Haru, but the realization of what had him feeling so upset, had dawned upon him so suddenly, and was so jarring, that he needed some time to process it.

When he woke up, it was to the noise of the others talking quietly with one another. It was easy to guess that Haru had voiced her concerns to the others, and they had come over because there was truly nothing that they couldn’t accomplish if they faced it together.

They all went quiet when they saw that he was awake. It seemed like none of them had any idea what to say, and he knew that was the case because he had no idea what to say either.

It was like a duel in an old western, and he half expected a tumbleweed to magically appear, and roll between them. It was not to be though, probably because they we weren't dueling with old guns, in the desert, instead they were just sitting around a large table, waiting for someone to speak.

"What's the matter dude?" Ryuji asked, breaking the silence.

All eyes went to him.

"Well nobody else was talking and we all need to know," he said defensively.

Nobody could argue with that.

Akira looked away. He couldn't say it. He couldn't face seeing that it was true, not when these past couple of months were some of the best of his life.

"Did we do something wrong?" Futaba asked. "Like when you were Little, I mean? Did we somehow ruin things for you?"

He flinched, that wasn't it at all!

Unfortunately, they took that flinch as a sign she was right.

"Can you tell us? We won't be mad." Ann said. “We really want to fix whatever it is that we messed up, and we promise we won’t do whatever it was again.” The others made sounds of agreement.

"No," Akira said finally finding his voice, even if it was more shaky than usual. "You guys didn't do anything wrong."

"Well didn't do everything right if you look like that," Ryuji said. "Please just tell us, we can't do better in the future if you don't tell us how we messed up."

"What do you mean?" Akira asked cautiously.

"Well ever since i had you over my house," Ann started, "we've been thinking of more activities we could do with you. Ryuji's best idea was a sleepover with everyone, but most of us just watched movies, and cuddled with you, so we…"

Akira could see Ann was still speaking or more accurately, rambling, due to her nerves, but he couldn't hear her.

"Not over ?" he asked quietly, not daring to believe it.

Though his voice was no louder than a whisper, it cut through the room like a shout.

"What do you mean by that?" Haru asked slowly.

He looked away again swiping quickly at his eyes. He took a breath pushing off the urge to slip in Littlespace, this was something that he needed to be Big for. "I thought it would be a one, and done arrangement."

They looked at him in shock. None of them wanting to believe that he had any reason to believe that. Surely he had seen how besotted they were with his Little side.

Yusuke got up, and walked over to Akira, and Akira looked up at him. "I am sorry. I wish you would have confided in one of us, so that we might have helped clear this up a lot sooner."

"I didn't know what was wrong until it hit me, and it hit me really hard. I felt like we had come full circle, and that everything was over." Akira shrugged, trying to pretend he hadn’t been as affected as he had been.

Yusuke saw through the bluff, and pulled Akira into a hug. The others wasted no time in joining in.

When they finally broke apart, Yusuke, spoke up again. “There is one thing I wish to talk to you about,” he said addressing Akira, then he frowned, “Well it concerns all of you actually,” he added.

“What’s up, Inari?” Futaba asked, like everyone else, she was a little worried at the seriousness of his tone.

“Well, having been in the role of a caregiver, I find myself curious about the... other side.”

It was easy for them all to see why that would appeal to Yusuke.

“I would like to give it a try, that is, if it is okay with all of you.”

Everyone, aside from Akira, either nodded, gave a quick word of happy agreement or smiled at him.

Akira just froze.

“It was simply a thought,” Yusuke began, knowing that he wouldn’t try if Akira was against it.

Still Akira said nothing, but they could see him shaking. Then, a smile lit up his face, and he threw himself at Yusuke. Yusuke somehow managed to stay upright even with the shock.

“Does this mean that you are okay with the idea?” Yusuke asked.

Akira laughed, and nodded. “I never in a million years thought I would have caregivers, and all of you are more than I could have dreamed of, but I never ever considered that I could have a playmate.”

Yusuke held him a bit tighter, and Akira could feel him relaxing, it was only then that Akira realized just how worried Yusuke had been, and if he hadn't been convinced before about Yusuke being honest, that would have been the thing to do it.

Akira imagines what the future will hold, and smiles, knowing that it will be far better than anything that he could come up with, after all, as long as he has his friends, everything would always end happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cant believe I finished it, even if I do feel this chapter is cheesy and a little bit less than I wanted it to be.
> 
> Anyone interested in a sequel?


End file.
